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James Debono
Malta has the highest churchgoing rate in Europe, MaltaToday’s Lenten survey reveals, with 77 per cent of respondents claiming they attended mass on the previous Sunday. However in those surveyed between the ages of 18 to 34 years, mass attendance falls significantly to 58 per cent – still higher than the average churchgoing rates in other Catholic countries in Europe.
The number of French who say they attend church regularly has shrunk to a mere 7.7 per cent. In Italy, where nearly 90 per cent of Italians call themselves Catholic, less than 30 per cent say they go to mass regularly. And in Spain, only 14 per cent of young Spaniards attend church – a 50 per cent decline in less than four years.
In Catholic Poland, 56.7 per cent of the population go to mass on any given Sunday, while Portugal, also predominantly Catholic, has a mass attendance of 30 per cent.
Worship figures in Protestant countries is significantly lower. Calvinist Switzerland has the highest Protestant church attendance with 13 per cent. At the bottom of the list are Scandinavian and Baltic countries. Only 3.2 per cent of Danes attend mass.
The latest official study on Sunday mass attendance in Malta was carried out by the Catholic Church in 1995, revealing that 70 per cent of the population attend mass.
Respondents participating in MaltaToday’s Lenten survey were also asked whether they had received the sacraments of confession and communion in the previous year. Confessing and receiving communion at least once a year is a basic Catholic obligation.
Surprisingly, it emerges that a number of respondents have received communion without confessing at least once during the previous year.While 89 per cent claim they had received communion, less people – 82 per cent – claimed that they had confessed.
Among those aged between 18 and 34 the difference is even more striking with 83 per cent receiving communion and only 72 per cent confessing at least once in the preceding year. This means that more than 10 per cent have received communion without even confessing their sins, a practice considered sinful according to church catechism.
Surprisingly, a substantial number of those who do not attend mass or receive the sacraments refrain from fasting on Good Friday. In fact eating meat on Good Friday has remained a universal taboo in Malta with 92 per cent fasting on this holy day. Even among the younger age groups, a high 88 per cent refrain from eating meat on Good Friday.
Yet only a minority respond to the Church’s exhortations to attend spiritual exercises which are aimed at provoking spiritual reflections during Lent. Only 34 per cent attend these talks, widely advertised during the Lenten period. Among those aged under 34, attendance falls to 27 per cent.
Overall, Maltese males tend to be somewhat less devout than their female cohorts. While 79 per cent of females claim they attend mass on Sunday, the percentage falls to 74 per cent among males. While only 8 per cent of females have not received communion in the last year, 17 per cent of males have abstained.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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