What the 2025 Leadership Roundtable National Catholic Survey Reveals and Why It Matters for Campus Ministry
by Rosie Chinea Shawver, MDiv
Every few years, the Catholic Church in the United States receives a kind of spiritual check-in-a moment to pause, reflect, and listen to the lived experience of the faithful. The newly released 2025 Leadership Roundtable Survey Report, which includes responses from more than 3,000 U.S. Catholics, offers one of the clearest and most comprehensive portraits we’ve had in decades. It is a sobering, hopeful, and deeply instructive look at where trust has been rebuilt, where wounds remain, and where new possibilities for renewal are emerging.
For campus ministers, this research is not simply informative-it is illuminating. It helps us understand the spiritual landscape into which we minister every single day. And, in many ways, it confirms what so many campus ministers already sense: young adults are both profoundly engaged and profoundly vulnerable, and the Church’s future may hinge on how well we serve them in this moment.
A Church Still Healing: The Lingering Trust Gap
The report begins by acknowledging the long shadows of 2002, when the sexual abuse crisis came to national attention. Decades later, it remains one of the most significant obstacles to trust. Even now, 53% of Catholics believe abusers are still active and protected within the clergy, and only 60% believe their diocese communicates transparently about abuse allegations.
These numbers reveal a Church still carrying deep wounds-wounds that are not healed by policies alone. But the report also highlights something encouraging: Catholics express significantly higher trust in the leaders they know personally. An overwhelming 77% trust their pastor and local clergy to protect children, and 79% trust parish staff and volunteers. In a world where cynicism about institutions is high, personal relationships remain powerful.
This is an important insight for campus ministry: trust is built face-to-face, not headline-to-headline. Students may arrive wary of “the institutional Church,” yet they often discover trust, credibility, and authenticity in the campus ministers who accompany them.
Young Adults: The Most Engaged and the Most Fragile
One of the most surprising findings is that young adults-18 to 29-year-olds-are statistically the most engaged Catholics in the United States today. They are more likely than any other age group to attend Mass at least monthly (65%), go to confession and adoration, participate in parish activities, and be connected to their faith. This is a complete reversal from 2003, when young adults were the least engaged demographic.
But this good news comes with a sobering reality. Even among these highly engaged young Catholics, nearly one-third (33%) say they often think about leaving the Church, a rate nearly five times higher than adults over 65. For those ages 30–44, the number climbs even higher, to 37%.
Why? The most common reasons include:
Misalignment between Church teaching and personal values (36%)
Feeling like they don’t have a place in the Church (17%)
Discouragement from crisis or scandal (15%)
This is the young adult paradox: they’re present, active, and hungry for faith-but they’re also unsure, questioning, and carrying deep tensions.
For campus ministers, this confirms what many intuitively know: college students aren’t leaving the Church because they are uninterested. They are wrestling. They are discerning. They are asking hard questions. And they need a safe, faithful space to do that.
Co-Responsibility Isn’t a Trend-It’s the Church’s Deepest Desire
One of the clearest themes from the survey is that Catholics want a more transparent, accountable, and collaborative Church. In fact, building a transparent and accountable leadership culture was rated the top priority for the future of the Church by 77% of respondents, the highest level of agreement across all issues surveyed.
Right behind it was another striking number: 78% of Catholics believe that elevating lay leaders through pastoral and finance councils is essential to restoring trust and rebuilding communities. Support for co-responsibility spans every age group.
This should resonate deeply with campus ministers, because campus ministry is already one of the most co-responsible environments in the Church. Students help lead retreats, facilitate small groups, serve in liturgical roles, plan service programs, mentor peers, and shape the faith life of their communities. The Church is saying-loudly and clearly-that this collaborative model is not only helpful. It is necessary.
Young people don’t want a Church where decisions happen behind closed doors. They want a Church that listens, invites participation, and values their gifts. Campus ministry is already modeling that reality.
Transparency and Giving: A Direct Connection
The survey’s financial insights are especially relevant for stewardship in campus ministry. Among Catholics who already give regularly:
61% say they would give more if the Church were more financially transparent
Among young adults, that number jumps to 75%
39% of those who rarely or never give cite lack of financial transparency as the reason
72% say they would give less if they learned of a scandal in their parish or diocese
This is not a crisis of generosity. It is a crisis of confidence.
For campus ministers, the implications are clear. Students-and the alumni they become-want to know:
How funds are used
Why giving matters
How ministry budgets reflect mission
That the Church’s finances align with the values preached
Transparency is evangelization. Stewardship is formation. And honesty builds trust.
The Disengaged Are Not Lost - Especially the Young
One-third of Catholics in the survey identify as disengaged from Mass attendance-a dramatic increase from 13% in 2003. But a closer look reveals something hopeful: disengaged young adults are much more open to returning than older adults.
Among those ages 18–29 who seldom or never attend Mass:
43% are unsure what would bring them back
21% say they would return if they felt welcomed
22% say they would return if ministries connected to their life or family
Only 6% say “nothing could bring me back”
This openness is a tremendous gift for campus ministry. The college environment enables outreach to students who may have drifted from faith during high school or feel unsure about where they stand. These students are not rejecting Christ-they’re waiting for an invitation.
Campus ministry is uniquely positioned to accompany the “almost Catholic,” the “spiritually curious,” and the “not sure where I fit” student. The survey clearly shows that these young adults are reachable.
Families, Formation, and the Wider Ecosystem
The report’s exploration of youth formation reveals gaps that directly impact the students who arrive on our campuses. Among Mass-attending parents:
76% of families participate in parish life, but
Only 53% believe their Catholic school is thriving spiritually and academically
And 28% of children are not progressing through sacramental preparation even if they are baptized
Many students arrive at college with:
Limited parish experience
Incomplete catechesis
Mixed family practice
No strong Catholic peer community
This highlights the importance of campus ministry as a stabilizing-and often primary-formative environment.
Campus ministers are no longer simply “supporting” a faith students already have. They are often helping build that faith for the first time in a mature, adult way.
A Church at a Crossroads-and Campus Ministry at the Center
The survey concludes with a powerful statement: the future of the Church will not be secured by minor adjustments, but by accelerating the cultural transformation toward transparency, accountability, and co-responsibility that began after 2002.
And that cultural transformation is already happening on college campuses.
Campus ministers:
Build trust where institutional trust is low
Model collaborative leadership
Form students in integrity, discernment, and responsibility
Create spaces of belonging for the uncertain, the curious, and the wounded
Preach the Gospel through relationship, transparency, and authenticity
Help young adults rediscover that the Church is not only credible-it’s beautiful
If the data is correct, the renewal of the Catholic Church is already being seeded on college campuses. Young adults are engaged, searching, and spiritually open. They want a Church that listens, collaborates, and walks with them. And they are finding that Church most reliably in the presence of faithful, joyful campus ministers.
The work you are doing is not just important, it is pivotal. You are forming the leaders, disciples, and witnesses who will carry the Church into its next generation.
And according to the 2025 National Survey, the Church desperately needs exactly what you are offering.
What Campus Ministers Can Do With the 2025 National Catholic Survey
Here are quick, practical steps based on the biggest findings from the study.
1. Build Trust Through Transparency
The survey shows Catholics trust local leaders more than institutions and young adults give more when finances are clear.
Share a simple annual “state of the ministry.”
Explain where donations go.
Communicate your safe-environment practices.
2. Create Stronger Belonging
Young adults are highly engaged but fragile - 33% think about leaving.
Personally follow up with new students.
Train student leaders to explicitly name belonging.
Host low-pressure community nights early each semester.
3. Empower Students as Co-Responsible Leaders
78% of Catholics want more lay leadership.
Use a Student Pastoral or Advisory Council.
Let students lead retreats and initiatives with staff support.
Offer regular leadership formation sessions.
4. Make Space for Hard Questions
Many young adults consider leaving because of value conflicts, scandal, or not feeling at home.
Hold “Ask Anything” nights.
Offer guided conversations on tough issues.
Provide spiritual direction and mentoring.
5. Re-engage the Disengaged
Disengaged young adults are the most open to returning—only 6% say nothing could bring them back.
Run a “welcome back” campaign each semester.
Offer beginner-friendly small groups.
Invite personally and follow up consistently.
6. Support Students With Gaps in Formation
Many arrive with incomplete sacramental prep or limited parish experience.
Provide flexible RCIA/confirmation tracks.
Partner with parishes for sacramental support.
Offer “Faith Basics” or “Intro to Catholicism” series.
7. Use the Data for Training & Advocacy
Share key findings with your staff, chaplains, and student leaders.
Reference the data when meeting with diocesan or university partners.
Use statistics to support fundraising and ministry requests.
Taken together, these seven actions offer campus ministers a clear and hopeful path forward. The data confirms what many already sense: young adults are eager for connection, hungry for truth, and open to deeper faith if the Church meets them with trust, transparency, and genuine accompaniment. By strengthening belonging, empowering student leadership, communicating openly, and creating space for honest questions, campus ministries can become the very places where renewal begins. The survey does not simply describe a moment in the Church it points to a mission. And that mission is alive on our campuses today.