Nuns Helped Build America, Then They Vanished. Why? | The Deep

Nuns Helped Build America, Then They Vanished. Why? | The Deep

From The LOOPcast by CatholicVote

April 9, 2026 · 22 min

About this episode

This episode explores the dramatic decline of America's Catholic sisters and the factors contributing to their disappearance.

179,000 nuns… down to 33,000. What happened? In this episode of The Deep, Erika uncovers the shocking collapse of America’s Catholic sisters – an 82% decline – and the hidden forces behind it. Was it Vatican II, feminism, or something deeper? And why are a few communities quietly rising from the ashes? 0:00 Intro: Why did America’s nuns disappear? 3:42 History of religious sisters in America 5:50 What lead to the decline? 8:50 The destruction of the family 11:18 The sexual revolution and feminism 12:16 The media and cultural narratives 13:04 Debt and careerism 14:02 The fallout 16:52 Who survived? 19:04 Thriving communities today 20:32 Conclusion: Why we need religious sisters! Watch The Deep on Zeale: https://zeale.co/podcasts/the-deep

People in this episode

Host: Erika

Topics covered

  • decline of nuns
  • history of religious sisters
  • cultural narratives
  • impact of feminism
  • religious communities

Keywords

  • nuns
  • Catholic sisters
  • Vatican II
  • feminism
  • sexual revolution
  • cultural narratives
  • religious communities

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Catholic sisters

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