Students on College Campuses Report Increased Interest in Catholicism

Over the last few years, young educated adults are finding Catholicism more attractive than other forms of Christianity. Even at secular universities, these young men and women have settled on the Catholic Church, drawn in by its 2000-year-old intellectual tradition and beauty.

At Stanford University in California, the nation’s top producer of tech entrepreneurs, the local parish has seen a three-fold increase in the number of converts this year compared to 2025. As future members of Silicon Valley, Stanford students are not known for taking initiatives in faith, especially a faith as traditional as Catholicism. But on weekends, over 600 students attend Mass there.

Stanford isn’t alone. The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults is the program that the Catholic Church uses to welcome adults and children past the age of seven into the church. According to data from the prayer app Hallow, college campuses saw the number of students participating in OCIA increase by 115% from the 2024-2025 school year to the 2025-2026 school year. This includes schools like Texas A&M, University of Southern California and Harvard.

Kyle Lynds, a Southern California native working on a startup, returned to the Catholic faith he grew up in after graduating from Babson College in Massachusetts in 2023. Asked about growth in the Catholic Church, Lynds said, “I think people are fed up with the meaningless pursuit of pleasure.”

He acknowledged the rocky history of the Catholic Church, including recent clergy sexual abuse scandals. Nevertheless, young adults have been drawn to Catholic churches. He said that being connected to something older and bigger than one’s self is a big part of this.

“There is a deep tradition that builds on top of itself. When people get a taste of that, and it feels a little contrarian, they are attracted to Catholicism,” he said.

Bailey Clark, a senior studying Computer Engineering at Union College, a private school in Schenectady, New York, will be confirmed into the Catholic Church this coming Easter. His journey started his junior year, when he began to question the limits of moral relativism and science.

“As an engineer,” he said, “I am often focused on the next thing and the next thing. ‘How can I be more efficient?’”

But, he said that the repetition of Sunday Mass, where the same prayers are done every week and the content focuses on one eternal truth, has provided a steady base for him.

Clark initially became interested in Catholicism after reading the Bible cover to cover and engaging with online Catholic influencers. Specifically influential were Father Mike Schmitz and Bishop Robert Barron, two Catholic prelates with a large online following. Alongside theological discussion, they offer a blend of modern communication and traditional teachings that resonate with younger audiences.

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