Marlene Mulford, chancellor and director of pastoral planning for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, has announced an online survey of people from the diocese who have drifted from or left the Catholic Church or are no longer attending Mass regularly.

The study was commissioned by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki after an analysis of annual "October Counts" showed a 30 percent decline in Mass attendance in the diocese since 1996.

"October Counts" are a head-count held at parishes in the diocese, taken every year on the weekends in October, to determine how many parishioners actually attend Mass.

"Bishop Paprocki was very concerned about the decline in Mass attendance," Mulford said. "He met with the president of Benedictine University and members of the social science faculty to ask them to design a survey for lapsed Catholics.

"The survey will help us gather information so the diocese and its parishes can enhance their service to the people they are privileged to serve," she said.

The team working on the survey includes Phillip Hardy, Ph.D., of the Department of Political Science, as well as Kelly Kandra, Ph.D., and Brian Patterson, Ph.D., of the Department of Psychology, Sociology and Criminal Justice. They hope to gather survey responses from several hundred participants during the coming months.

Mulford said the survey will be publicized on Facebook and other social media, in the diocesan monthly mailing to parish leadership, in Catholic Times and with pew cards made available in parishes.

The pew cards encourage active Catholics to invite family members or friends who have drifted away to go to the survey on line. The survey is available at www.ben.edu/catholicsurvey.

"The survey takes 10 to 15 minutes and provides opportunity for comment for those who wish." Mulford said. "And most importantly, it is completely confidential."

To participate in the survey, respondents must be 18 years of age or older; an inactive or former member of a parish in the diocese; and either no longer attend Mass regularly, have drifted away or no longer think of themselves as Catholic.

A companion survey, for active Catholics in the diocese, will be offered at a later date, Mulford said.

For more information, contact Mulford at (217) 698-8500, ext. 108, or email her at . For information on the "October Counts," visit the diocesan website at www.dio.org/chancellor/october-count.html.