Castiglione Parish Launches Community Survey on Church Attendance
A new survey has been launched regarding participation in festive celebrations promoted by the Parrocchia dei Santi Nazario e Celso. Next Sunday, April 29th, after all daily church services, a form will be distributed to the faithful. Once filled out, this form will help compile statistics related to the practicing population of Castiglione.
Survey Procedure
The method used to conduct the survey is quite straightforward. At the end of the Mass, a sheet will be handed out where individuals can indicate, by tearing off the appropriate tabs corresponding to their chosen response, data about their age group, gender, place of residence, marital status, length of residence in the municipality, profession, and type of participation in the Mass.
The collected data will be reviewed by statistical experts who will then work on drafting the results of the survey. The findings will be disseminated as quickly as possible, in order to outline the social reality close to the church.
Historical Context and Past Results
This type of initiative has a precedent in 1995, when, after analyzing the obtained statistics, it received good feedback. Nearly 2,300 people filled out the form, which Out of a total population of around 15,500 inhabitants, corresponds to about 15% of the population.
The results indicated that, percentage-wise, women participated more actively in Mass than men: 17% of women in Castiglione were reported as practicing Catholics, compared to 10.2% of the male population.
Additionally, the most frequent attendees were individuals aged 46 and above, while the least present were those aged 19 to 30, accounting for just 8%.
Goals and Motivations of the Initiative
“The decision to subject the faithful to this kind of inquiry,” explains don Alberto, “was made within the Consiglio Pastorale (Pastoral Council), which considered it useful to have detailed information about the practicing population in order to guide the design of our pastoral actions in the coming years.”
It is also possible that the parish will regularly undertake such population monitoring efforts, to better understand the characteristics of the faithful and plan interventions as appropriately suited to the most pressing needs present in the territory.