The (simultaneous) rise and fall of western monasticism

Also from Dr. Armstrong’s Re-Monking post:

Between 1978 and 2004—nearly the entire span of John Paul II’s pontificate—the number of men in [Western] monastic and religious orders (not including priests) decreased by 46% in Europe and 30% in the Americas, while the number of women decreased by 39% and 27%, respectively. Compare this to the trend in the global South: During the same period, men in monastic and religious orders increased by 48% in Africa and 39% in Asia, with women increasing on those two continents by 62% and 64%.