Residence Stability and Decline in Roman Catholic Religious Orders of Women: A Preliminary Invetigation.

Previous research on lifestyle changes within U.S. Catholic religious orders has neglected to examine the extent to which their members still live communally. In this study, the archives of eight religious congregations of women were examined for 1964 and 1990 to determine changes in living patterns. When compared with 1964, sisters in 1990 lived in much smaller groups and in apartments rather than convents. The composition of the 1990 groups was also much more stable over time. Possible reasons for these changes are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]