How American Catholics View Pope Francis And Church Doctrine
NEW YORK — A large majority of U.S. Catholics have a positive view of Pope Francis — although his popularity has slipped since he became pontiff in 2013, a new poll released on Friday found.
The survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center, found that 75% of U.S. Catholics view the pontiff favorably — down eight percentage points since Pew last asked the question in 2021 and minus a staggering 15 points below his peak favorability rating, which hit 90% in 2015.
Since becoming pope in 2013, Pew found that Francis has often received favorable ratings. He is viewed more positively, Pew said, compared to his immediate predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, but less so compared to St. John Paul II.
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Overall, Pope Francis has averaged an 82 percent approval rating across 14 Pew surveys that have been conducted throughout his pontificate.
Nonetheless, there are fissures among American Catholics, the survey found, especially when you look at how people vote in U.S. elections. For example, Pew said that “the partisan gap in views of Pope Francis is now as large as it’s ever been in our surveys.”
Pew also found 9 in 10 U.S. Catholics who vote Democrat or lean toward the Democratic Party hold a positive view of Pope Francis, compared with 63% of those who are Republicans or lean towards the GOP.
Politics aside, most American Catholics “regard Francis as an agent of change.” Overall, the survey found,7 in 10 said Pope Francis “represents a change in direction for the church,” including 42% who say he “represents a major change.”
The survey comes after Francis announced in December that Catholic clergy could bless same-sex couples — issuing a document detailing the change in the Vatican’s policy as long as it doesn’t resemble a marriage ceremony. The decree caused confusion and consternation from bishops, especially in Africa, and forced the Vatican to have to clarify the issue within weeks.
While traditional Catholics opposed the papal document, many Catholics living in the United States welcomed it.
Here’s what Pew also found when it asked about a series of hot-button theological and cultural issues:
— 83% said they want the church to allow Catholics to use contraception.
— 75% said the church should allow Catholics to take Communion — even if they are unmarried and living with a romantic partner.
— 69% said Catholic priests should be allowed to marry.
— 64% said women should be allowed to become priests.
— 59% said they attend Mass at least once a week.
— 54% said the church should recognize same-sex marriages.
The survey found that most of Catholics polled who favor such changes are largely Democrats (57%), while those who are Republican (72%) predominantly opposed them.
The pope, meanwhile, hasn’t been afraid to wade into the culture war. This past Monday, he declared gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy as violations of human dignity.
In a 23-page document, the Vatican said God created man and woman as biologically different and added that people must not change that in an effort try to “make oneself God.”
“It follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule,” the document added, “risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.”
Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged. He previously served as deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and a longtime reporter at The New York Post. Follow him on X @ClementeLisi.