(LifeSiteNews) — Adult conversion to the Catholic faith hit a 20-year high in the United States, according to a viral X post by Catholic blogger Shane Schaetzel.
In an X post from August 16 that reached over 1.1 million views, Schaetzel shared a graph showing approximately 160,000 adult conversions in 2025 so far, about the same number as 2002. The graph shows that adult conversions declined from 2000 until 2021, when they fell below 60,000. However, adult conversions have rebounded since then and have now reached a 20-year high, according to Schaetzel’s graph.
Something big is happening among Catholics in the United States.👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/UmCqlyUklQ
— Shane Schaetzel (@ShaneSchaetzel) August 16, 2025
The Catholic blogger said he based his calculations on data from Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), Pew Research Center, the National Catholic Register, and Vatican Statistics. Schaetzel told LifeSiteNews that the numbers for 2025 are “based upon the number of people who came into the church at the Easter vigil,” meaning that the total number for 2025 could be even higher in the end. However, the numbers for 2025 are estimates, as they are aggregates from various sources, including diocesan records. The official figures for 2025 could therefore differ from Schaetzel’s estimates when the final reports are released in 2026.
The blogger said that he believes the “COVID-Wokeism nexus” led to many people converting to the Catholic faith, implying that seeing evil, lies, and distortions reaching a pinnacle in the past five years may have led many people to search for the truth.
The rise in adult conversions to the Catholic faith has been an observable trend in recent years. Multiple famous personalities, including Candace Owens, Shia LaBeouf, and former NBA All-Star Gordon Hayward, have converted to the Catholic faith in recent times.
Other parts of the world have also reported growth, like the Catholic Church in Lutheran-dominated Finland. Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney recently said that converts in his archdiocese have increased 26 percent each year over the last five years and that religiosity is growing among Catholic students.
READ: Cdl. Pell’s successor: Australia seeing ‘second spring’ of Catholicism with huge growth in converts
