Who is America's Favorite Pope? New Survey Reveals 75% of US Catholics View Pope Francis Favorably but a Surprising Comparison to Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI
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A new Pew Research Center survey reveals that :
75% of U.S. Catholics view Pope Francis favorably, down 8 percentage points since we last asked this question in 2021 and 15 points below his peak favorability rating, which was 90% in early 2015.
Since becoming pope in 2013, Francis often has received favorable ratings from 80% or more of U.S. Catholics.
Who is the Favorite? He generally has been viewed more positively than his immediate predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, but less positively than Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II.
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(Benedict’s favorability ratings varied between 67% and 83% during his pontificate. Upward of 90% of U.S. Catholics expressed favorable views of John Paul II on the three occasions that the Center asked about him in polls between 1987 and 1996.)
Roughly nine-in-ten Catholics who are Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party hold a positive view of him, compared with 63% of Catholics who are Republicans or lean Republican.
Overall, about seven-in-ten say the current pope represents a change in direction for the church, including 42% who say he represents a major change.
69% say priests should be allowed to get married.
64% say women should be allowed to become priests.
A new analysis in this report compares U.S. Catholics who favor these changes with those who oppose them. It shows that:The Catholics who mostly favor a variety of changes are largely Democrats or lean Democratic (57%), and many say they seldom or never attend Mass (56%).
The Catholics who mostly say the church should not take these steps are predominantly Republicans or lean Republican (72%), and many say they attend Mass at least once a week (59%).
These are among the key findings of a Pew Research Center survey conducted Feb. 13-25, 2024, among a nationally representative sample of 12,693 respondents, including 2,019 Catholic adults.
The 89% of Catholic Democrats who now express a favorable view of the pontiff is virtually identical to the 87% who said this in our February 2014 survey.
Among those with an unfavorable view of the pope, 54% say he represents a major change in direction for the church, while 20% say he represents a minor change.
Those who view Francis favorably are less likely than those with unfavorable views to see him as a major change (41%), and more likely to say he represents a minor change (35%).
Catholics who attend Mass regularly (once a week or more) are far more inclined than those who go less often to say the church should take a traditional or conservative approach on questions about the priesthood and sexuality.
For instance, 65% of weekly Mass attenders say the church should not recognize the marriages of same-sex couples.
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(Benedict’s favorability ratings varied between 67% and 83% during his pontificate. Upward of 90% of U.S. Catholics expressed favorable views of John Paul II on the three occasions that the Center asked about him in polls between 1987 and 1996.)
Roughly nine-in-ten Catholics who are Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party hold a positive view of him, compared with 63% of Catholics who are Republicans or lean Republican.
Overall, about seven-in-ten say the current pope represents a change in direction for the church, including 42% who say he represents a major change.
69% say priests should be allowed to get married.
64% say women should be allowed to become priests.
A new analysis in this report compares U.S. Catholics who favor these changes with those who oppose them. It shows that:The Catholics who mostly favor a variety of changes are largely Democrats or lean Democratic (57%), and many say they seldom or never attend Mass (56%).
The Catholics who mostly say the church should not take these steps are predominantly Republicans or lean Republican (72%), and many say they attend Mass at least once a week (59%).
These are among the key findings of a Pew Research Center survey conducted Feb. 13-25, 2024, among a nationally representative sample of 12,693 respondents, including 2,019 Catholic adults.
The 89% of Catholic Democrats who now express a favorable view of the pontiff is virtually identical to the 87% who said this in our February 2014 survey.
Among those with an unfavorable view of the pope, 54% say he represents a major change in direction for the church, while 20% say he represents a minor change.
Those who view Francis favorably are less likely than those with unfavorable views to see him as a major change (41%), and more likely to say he represents a minor change (35%).
Catholics who attend Mass regularly (once a week or more) are far more inclined than those who go less often to say the church should take a traditional or conservative approach on questions about the priesthood and sexuality.
For instance, 65% of weekly Mass attenders say the church should not recognize the marriages of same-sex couples.
Edited from Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2024/04/12/majority-of-u-s-catholics-express-favorable-view-of-pope-francis/
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