Numbers aren't everything, but...

... they often help tell the story:

The data found that just one percent of religious orders associated with the LCWR have more than 10 women in the process of joining, whereas among the CMSWR, 28 percent reported having 10 or more candidates. The “Study of Recent Vocations to Religious Life” conducted by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate on behalf of the Chicago-based National Religious Vocation Conference.

That from a post by Tim Drake on the National Catholic Register blog. The piece continues:

Why are these orders thriving?

“We’ve heard anecdotally that the youngest people coming to religious life are distinctive, and they really are,” said Sister Mary Bendyna, executive director of the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. “They’re more attracted to a traditional style of religious life, where there is community living, common prayer, having Mass together, praying the Liturgy of the Hours together. They are much more likely to say fidelity to the church is important to them. And they really are looking for communities where members wear habits.”

Here's a mid-range jump shot at a sports analogy:

Let's say you are a high school student who really likes playing basketball and you are good enough to be offered scholarships from two different colleges. One of them has a team with a strong coach with a winning record and a great graduation rate who immediately impresses upon you his vision for teamwork, discipline, and self-sacrifice. The team has a modest but immaculate and beautiful gym, attractive uniforms, and a long tradition of sportsmanship and excellent play. The team's facility has a proud display of its past players and all of the current players speak with obvious respect about the team's past accomplishment.

The other team's coach is pleasant enough, but let's you know that he thinks teamwork is best accomplished by players doing their own thing, on their own time, as they feel led by the spirit of basketball—or whatever. "We're not believers in regular practices around here," he tells you. You only meet two of the team's players since the others are spending time studying how to remake and modernize the game of basketball (i.e., no refs, no fouls, no rules, positive affirmation after every play), publicly complaining they aren't coaches, and demanding they be allowed play cricket and call it "basketball." The team doesn't have uniforms, but wear bland-looking sweats and sweater-like tops. The coach, in talking to you about your future, says, "You must do whatever your conscience tells you; it's an infallible guide to everything."

Which team would you go with?

• Paranoia. Identity Politics. Rebellion. Us vs. Them. (Aug. 24, 2009)
• Transparency, Creativity, and Heresy (Aug. 18, 2009)
• "Post-Christian Sisters," by Ann Carey (Catholic World Report, July 2009)