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JOURNAL OF APPLIED BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
Catholic Religious Vocations and Rational Choice: Some Evidence
Author(s): Daniel Condon
Citation: Daniel Condon, (2012) "Catholic Religious Vocations and Rational Choice: Some Evidence," Journal of Applied Business and Economics, Vol. 13, Iss. 5, pp. 58-63
Article Type: Research paper
Publisher: North American Business Press
Abstract:
The decline in the number of Roman Catholic clergy has been well documented in both the popular and
academic press. Most research argues that the decline began in the 1960’s and has continued steadily
since then. The decline in numbers has been confirmed for both diocesan and order priests as well as
orders of religious women. This decline in clergy is in direct contrast to the increase in the number of
Catholics. Schoenherr and Young (1993) document this trend for the United States concluding that the
most significant reason for the decline is the decrease in the number of ordinations. Starke and Finke
(2000) report similar declines for North America and Western Europe.
