U.S. Catholics split on Trump and church teachings
President Donald Trump is seeking a second term this November. Wikipedia Commons photo.
NEW YORK — As Democrats running for president prepare for a Super Tuesday contest that could very well determine a nominee, support among a devout subset of American Catholics for President Donald Trump is growing.
Nonetheless, a new poll found that U.S. Catholics remain sharply polarized when it comes to both the president and church teachings, with most — for now — favoring the Democratic challenger.
The newest poll by EWTN News/RealClear Opinion Research Poll released Monday, the second in what will be a series of four surveys, uncovered that Catholics, in the end, aren’t much different than that of Americans as a whole.
“In, kind of, ‘the broad frame,’ the Catholic vote is the American vote,” John Della Volpe, director of polling for RealClearOpinion Research, told EWTN News Nightly during Monday night’s broadcast.
The survey, taken from January 28 to February 4, was conducted by RealClear Opinion Research and included registered Catholic voters across the United States. Respondents were contacted online and the survey was offered in both English and Spanish. The sample size included 1,521 respondents.
American Catholics have supported the Democratic nominee in all but four presidential cycles since 1952. The president, however, is attempting to change that by launching a “Catholics for Trump” campaign that will target people in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, states that will likely determine who wins the Electoral College.
This recent poll offers a snapshot of what American Catholics think when it comes to their politics and faith. Indeed, the question of church teachings — and how that influences which candidate many U.S. Catholics plan to pull the lever for come November — was the focus of this new poll. It also gave details as to what they think on a variety of topics, including abortion.
Here are three key findings from the poll:
Trump support among devout Catholics grows
The poll found that only 18% of Catholics say they accept all of the church’s teachings. In addition, 38%, the poll found, said they accept most teachings. Another 29% do not accept some of the key teachings, while 13% say Catholicism has only a small influence on their daily lives.
Those 18% of devout churchgoers, which represents about one-fifth of the 70 million U.S. Catholics, are at odds with fellow Catholics and often vote in a very different way.
The poll found that 47% of all Catholics approve of Trump’s job performance, up 3% from November’s poll, and higher than among non-Catholics. Since then, Trump has overcome an impeachment trial in the Senate and took part on the March for Life last month, the first time a sitting U.S. president spoke at the annual event in person.
Practicing Catholics, like evangelicals, make up Trump’s base. The poll found that among devout Catholics (those who regularly attend Mass), 63% approve of the president. The poll found that 59% of devout Catholics say plan to vote for Trump, while another 8% say there’s a very good chance they will do so come November.
Biden remains favored among Catholics, Bloomberg surges
Former Vice President Joe Biden remains the favorite among Catholics overall, although he has lost steam over the past few weeks and now finds himself in need of delegates after Bernie Sanders won the recent Nevada Caucus. Biden, who is Catholic, has increasingly become more progressive on a host of issues, like abortion, in order to remain competitive in the primaries.
The Vermont senator, the frontrunner for now, is second among Catholics (at 24%), while surging into third (from seventh in November) is former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg (with 17%).
Both Sanders and Bloomberg are Jewish. If either is elected, it would be the first time in American history that the occupant of the White House is Jewish. Like Trump, Sanders and Bloomberg, who has used his own money to run a national ad blitz in recent weeks, will need to court Catholics across the doctrinal spectrum in order to win.
Trump currently trails all potential Democratic challengers, the poll found. Trump has tried to shore up Christians in general by defending religious liberty and by appointing conservative judges.
Most Catholics disagree with church teachings
In regards to doctrine, most American Catholics disagree with the church’s position that abortion, euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide are intrinsically evil. The poll found that 51% of all Catholics believe abortion should be legal, with 44% saying it should be illegal.
Even among devout Catholics, only 56% say it should be illegal. Only 23% said abortion should always be illegal, while another 27% agreed with Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal.
In its analysis, EWTN found that when it “comes to foundational church teaching, the active or devout Catholics are increasingly at odds with their fellow Catholics, to the point that there are virtually two Catholic communities in the country. This is obvious in the 2020 presidential election.”
The subset of Catholics who consider themselves devout continue to favor Trump, setting them apart from fellow Catholics who are more politically progressive. Catholics who accept all of the church’s teachings went for Trump, a twice divorced former reality TV show star, big in 2016 against Hillary Clinton by a margin of 60% to 34%. He will need to equal or better that in order to win a second term.
Clemente Lisi is a senior editor and regular contributor to Religion Unplugged. He is the former deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and teaches journalism at The King’s College in New York City.