Document Type

Article

Publication Date

June 2014

Abstract

In winter 2013, DePaul University’s Office of Mission and Values (OMV) commissioned the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University to conduct a survey of “unaffiliated lay Vincentians,” that is young adults between the ages of 18 to 35 who have had a formative experience in the Vincentian mission either as a student or as a post-graduate volunteer at a Vincentian institution. The central purpose of this research is to help OMV explore these unaffiliated lay Vincentians’ understanding of their experiences with the Vincentian mission, their commitment to that mission, and their desire for more formation in the Vincentian charism. In collaboration with Dr. Scott Kelley from DePaul University and Dr. Jessica Werner from Lay Vincentian Missionaries, CARA designed an online survey with 72 closed-ended and four open-ended questions. The survey asked respondents about their past and current engagement with the Vincentian mission, their understanding of the dimensions of the Vincentian mission, the importance they give to Vincentian values, their interest in learning more about the Vincentian charism, their past and current religiosity and spirituality, and their demographic characteristics. Between February 2014 and May 2014, CARA and OMV distributed a link to the survey to a total of 1,737 men and women that OVM identified as unaffiliated lay Vincentians. A total of 351 men and women (or 20 percent of those who had been sent the survey) completed the questionnaire.

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