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‘The nuns and the nones:’ the decline of U.S. Catholic elementary schools, 1970–2020

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  • Antoninus M. Samy
  • Tom Hamami

Abstract

Enrolments in Catholic elementary schools in the United States have fallen precipitously since their peak in the mid-1960s. This paper investigates the factors behind this decline by forming a dataset of enrolments in all U.S. Catholic elementary schools from 1970 to 2020 and regressing these on a set of variables that affect enrolment. While demographic and economic factors play an important role in this decline, religious factors such as the number of ‘nuns’ teaching at Catholic schools and religious disaffiliation also play a significant role. The results suggest that religious factors still have an important influence over school choice today.

Suggested Citation

  • Antoninus M. Samy & Tom Hamami, 2026. "‘The nuns and the nones:’ the decline of U.S. Catholic elementary schools, 1970–2020," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(3), pages 428-448, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:edecon:v:34:y:2026:i:3:p:428-448
    DOI: 10.1080/09645292.2025.2521758
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