Here's your regular reminder that this survey is a massively trailing indicator, meaning the events that led to this measurement have been decades in the making.

I often tell people that in my grandparents' generation, people sent their kids to Catholic school because they wanted to reinforce the faith they were being exposed to at home. In my parents' generation, people sent their kids to Catholic school to fill in for the faith they were not being exposed to at home. And in my generation, people send their kids to Catholic school because the uniforms are cute.

I jest, I jest, but this trend is being shaped by decades of changes in America's religious landscape. Just because the survey percentages have climbed significantly over the past 20 years doesn't necessarily mean that there is a recent impetus.

I knew that this result was coming 30 years ago, when I noticed that relatively few of my classmates were in the pews on Sundays, because their parents weren't regular churchgoers. Now they're adults, and most are Nones.

I guess if there's any silver lining, as someone who is still active in my faith, it's that as the numbers have dwindled, the people who have stuck around tend to be more engaged and more vibrant. Our parish started a Whole Family Religious Education Program, and unlike the CCD days when I was a kid, there are a nice group of parents who signed up and really want to learn more about their faith.