The numbers of religious sisters in the United States have dropped precipitously–from 179,954 in 1965 to 74,177 in 2002–according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.

The numbers of religious sisters in the United States have dropped precipitously–from 179,954 in 1965 to 74,177 in 2002–according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. As Sister Carolyn Farrell of Loyola University’s Gannon Center for Women and Leadership, put it: “It’s another moment in time. We are now living in a secular society.”