FORT GREENE — While most people are not old enough at their baptism to recall the special moment, Elsie Lora is fortunate enough to remember hers as one of the happiest days of her life.
Elsie was initiated into the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil at Mary of Nazareth Church in Fort Greene on March 30, a few days after her 14th birthday.
“It felt great,” she recalled in a recent interview with The Tablet. “I felt like I had always liked going to church, but that I was kind of like an outsider.
“When I was baptized, I felt like now I really belong.”
Elsie, a freshman at Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts in Bedford-Stuyvesant, attended Mary of Nazareth Church with her family growing up but was never baptized nor received the sacraments of Communion and confirmation.
That changed when she enrolled in the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) program and took faith formation classes.
“I wanted to become a Catholic because of my family,” Elsie said. “I wanted to be like them.”
She attends Mass every Sunday and is grateful that she can receive Communion.
“When I go to get Communion, instead of receiving it in my hands, I receive it directly on my tongue,” she explained, “and then on my way back, I stay focused. I kneel and pray about how thankful I am.”
Elsie’s excitement over joining the Catholic Church contrasts sharply with her Gen Z peers — those born between 1997 and 2012. According to a study by the Survey Center on American Life and the American Enterprise Institute, Gen Z females are more likely to dissociate from organized religion than their male counterparts. The study, released in April, found that 54% of Gen Z females reported having left organized religion, compared to 46% of males.
As for the reasons why they are leaving the Church, Gen Z females in the study claim there is inequality in the treatment of women in organized religion. When asked if they agree or disagree with the statement that “Most churches and religious congregations treat men and women equally,” 65% of Gen Z women disagreed.
The Catholic Church’s strong pro-life position could also be a factor, as 54% of Gen Z females support abortion, according to the survey.
A study by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that 34% of Gen Z-ers — both male and female — are unaffiliated with any religion. By contrast, 25% of Gen X-ers (1965-1980), 19% of Baby Boomers (1946-1964), and 15% of the Silent Generation (1928-1945) reported that they do not belong to any organized religion. Millennials (1981-1996), the generation just ahead of Gen Z, had nearly the same level of unaffiliation, 35%, as shown by the Gen Z crowd.
Elsie, who is bucking the trend, admitted to being puzzled by Gen Z’s views on religion.
“It kind of makes me sad that a bunch of people my age are leaving the Church,” she said. “There’s a chance to connect with God, and they’re throwing away this chance.”
Elsie has seized her opportunity, fully embracing parish life at Mary of Nazareth Church since her baptism. She’s a member of the parish’s youth ministry, where young people come together to talk about religion, get to know each other, and plan events like fundraisers and trips.
She also keeps up a busy schedule at school, where she enjoys her classes and is learning to play the clarinet. She also likes to create digital drawings on her Chromebook in her spare time. Still, she said her faith is central to her life.
“I’m really glad I became Catholic because I see what happens and what goes on around the world,” Elsie said. “I feel that I will always be okay because I know for a fact that Jesus is watching over me.”
