A survey of Catholic laity in three suburban Virginia parishes

asked about preferred models and priorities of the church. When asked to select from statements describing Dulles' models of the church, they preferred the mystical communion and servant models most, the sacramental and institutional models least. When asked to rate 21 church priority statements, they selected religious education and counseling as highest, social action and evangelism as lowest. The laity had personal and family concerns in mind more than any of the Dulles models when they selected church priorities. The main determinants of views about church models and priorities are theological orientation and age. Younger laity, more concerned with ethicalism and more democratically-inclined, stressed social action and solidarity disproportionately; the same laity preferred the mystical communion model and underchose the institutional model. Lay influence in the suburban Catholic church probably will be in the direction of the mystical communion model. Among the profound changes in the Roman Catholic church since the Second Vatican Council has been the introduction of new democratic and semi-democratic structures at all levels. Included in them are new lay parish councils. These councils provide a new role for Catholic laity in the church, a role which will bring with it new influences on the church from laity. What will this new lay participation bring? What are lay members' attitudes about the church? To understand American Catholic laity, one must remember the rapid social change they have recently experienced. Since the 1950s they have become quite integrated into the structures of American society, and they have experienced rapid upward social mobility (Greeley, et al., 1976). Traditional barriers between the Catholic community and the Protestant community have been falling, as more and more Catholic families move to suburbs and as more and more Catholic youth attend secular schools and colleges. Durkheim (1933:287ff) pointed out that most religious change occurs in the wake of social change which weakens traditional barriers formerly separating peoples-especially change such as urbanization, mass communication, and migration. Such social change has characterized American Catholics. It can be expected to encourage change in the church in the direction of de-emphasis of distinctively Catholic elements and toward other middle class institutional styles long in