A growing number of college students are turning to Catholicism in search of stability, community, and faith amid an uncertain cultural moment, according to the University of South Carolina’s Carolina News and Reporter and South Carolina Public Radio.
In South Carolina, the college Catholic population has more than doubled over several decades, now surpassing 218,000, the report said. Carolina News and Reporter, the University of South Carolina’s student-run news outlet, also highlighted other active Catholic ministries in the region, including Texas A&M University and the University of Georgia.
The report said some students are increasingly seeking “authenticity” amid political polarization, cultural tensions, and “rapid technological change” that many students have said left young adults searching for meaning and stability.
Colin Snyder, associate director of campus ministry for graduate students at St. Thomas More Catholic Church and Campus Ministry at the University of South Carolina, said the ministry’s growing attendance reflects students’ search for things that feel “real” in the age of artificial intelligence and social media.
He added that the growth is impressive.
“We have roughly an average of 250 students every Sunday now for our Sunday supper, whereas four years ago it was more between 50 to 75,” Snyder said.
Ellie Dawkins, a University of South Carolina junior who was raised Baptist, said exploring the Catholic faith has been “grounding” after a friend invited her to Mass, where she felt “a calling in [her] heart.”
The trend mirrors broader reports of increasing interest in Catholicism across the United States. In a recent interview with Zeale News, Father Mike Schmitz, host of Ascension’s “The Bible in a Year” podcast, said many young people are being drawn to the Church through goodness, truth and beauty.
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