South Korean Catholics prefer shorter sermons, says survey

Apr 30, 2025

SEOUL: Nearly half of Catholics surveyed in South Korea said homilies should ideally last no more than 10 minutes, a view echoed by the late Pope Francis during his papacy.

Among the 1,353 respondents surveyed from April 10-24, nearly half, or 49 percent, said that homilies should be around 10 minutes.

CatholicPoll, a joint project of the Catholic Times newspaper and Seoul Archdiocese-run Good News, organized the multiple-choice survey on the topic “How many minutes should a homily be?”

Among the respondents, nearly one in five people (19 percent) said that a 15-minute-long homily was acceptable, while 14.8 percent said that “the length doesn't matter.”

Meanwhile, 12.2 percent said they preferred homilies of length “5 minutes or less,” and 5 percent said a 20-minute-long homily was acceptable.

In 2018, Pope Francis had urged priests to “be brief” and ensure that their homilies are “no more than 10 minutes,” the Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported.

On June 12, 2024, Francis urged Catholic priests to reduce their homily duration by eight minutes, warning them that “people will fall asleep,” CNA reported.

The survey aimed “to listen to public opinion and promote communion and communication within the Church.”

Ideal homily themes
The survey also recorded the ideal homily themes that respondents said they prefer to hear from the priests.

Most people  (61 percent) said they would like to hear homilies on the topic “How to look at the world [society] in light of the Bible.”

The next preferred topic, supported by 54.9 percent, was on how the Bible relates to their faith. A quarter of the surveyed people (24.9 percent) said they would like to hear about the Bible and doctrine.

A smaller number of people (17.3 percent) wanted to hear something “easy and fun, rather than difficult.”

Only a few people (10.9 percent) wanted to hear theological discourses that they don't normally hear during homilies.

Impact of homilies on people
The majority of those surveyed said that the homilies prepared and delivered by priests positively impacted their lives.

More than half (51 percent) said parish priests take a lot of “time and care” to prepare their homilies, while one-third (29.2 percent) said homilies were "prepared adequately."

However, a smaller group  (12.6 percent) felt priests were "somewhat unprepared” for homilies.

A few people (3.9 percent) said their priest “seems to be repeating a homily from last year [or earlier].”

Relevance of homily themes
The multiple-choice survey also analyzed the themes' relevance and impact on the listeners.

Most respondents (76.6 percent) said homilies were “centered around the day's readings, the Gospel,” while 50 percent said the homilies “made the Bible relevant to their lives.”

However, some (12.2 percent) said they “don't remember much about the homily.” 

Additionally, a smaller number said that the priest “talks about things that don't relate to the day's readings or the Gospel.”

Some people also found the priest “talking a lot about the world or politics.”

Among the respondents, 19 people (1.4 percent) said that the homilies were “difficult to understand.”--ucanews.com