Stephen Bullivant

Stephen Bullivant is a professor of theology and the sociology of religion at St Mary's University, London (OSV News). With Stephen Cranney he has led survey research on Catholics who attend the traditional Latin Mass in the United States. This profile covers that public work only.

In a jointly written July 2024 article, the two noted the lack of reliable data on Latin Mass attendees (OSV News). Their 2023 survey found that 44 percent of regular Latin Mass attenders were under 45, compared with 20 percent of other parishioners in the same settings (OSV News). CatholicVote reported on their survey of 446 Catholics attending licit Latin Masses at least once a year, in which 49 percent agreed or strongly agreed that they accept the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and 11 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed; SSPX chapels were not included.

Their book Trads: Latin Mass Catholics in the United States, combining survey data, ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews, is listed by Oxford University Press for late 2026. On 5 March 2026 Pope Leo XIV received Bullivant and Cranney in a private audience, which the Holy See confirmed without describing its content (OSV News; America). OSV News reported that the authors present their research as a corrective to caricatures of traditionalists from either side of the debate. Traditionalist outlets have cited the work; LifeSiteNews headlined that the Pope had met professors "who found Latin Mass Catholics are more orthodox, not 'schismatic'". See Young Catholics and the Latin Mass.