Catholic Membership on the rise While other Churches have seen a decrease in membership in the state of Iowa, the Catholic Church has increased its membership by 7.3% from 1990-2000.
Catholic Church leaders believe that increase could be attributed to a number of things including immigration. More and more Hispanics are migrating to Iowa to find work, and they are bringing with them their Catholic faith. The Glenmary Research Center which released the numbers for the state of Iowa, says that nearly 80% of Hispanics who move to Iowa are Catholic.
Church leaders also believe that "High Church Liturgy" is playing a role in keeping members. "High Church Liturgy" is the use of signs and symbols during a mass. Commonly this refers to incense, candles, statues, and colorful robes worn by the Priest.