Americans, including Catholics, continue to have favorable views of Pope Francis
63% of U.S adults have a “very” or “mostly” favorable opinion of Pope Francis, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in March.
Claire Gecewicz is a research associate at Pew Research Center, where she contributes to the Center’s domestic religion polls. Gecewicz holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied sociology. She is a contributing author of many Pew Research Center reports, including “America’s Changing Religious Landscape,” “Americans See Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse as an Ongoing Problem,” “In America, Does More Education Equal Less Religion?” and “Why Americans Don’t Fully Trust Many Who Hold Positions of Power and Responsibility.”
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Faith Among Black Americans
Today, most Black adults say they rely on prayer to help make major decisions, and view opposing racism as essential to their religious faith.
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Amid pandemic, Black and Hispanic worshippers more concerned about safety of in-person religious services
Black and Hispanic worshippers are less likely than their white counterparts to say they have gone to a house of worship recently.
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Few Americans say their house of worship is open, but a quarter say their faith has grown amid pandemic
24% of U.S. adults overall say their faith has become stronger because of the coronavirus pandemic; just 2% say their faith has become weaker.
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Three-quarters of U.S. Catholics view Pope Francis favorably, though partisan differences persist
Americans’ opinions of Pope Francis have rebounded slightly after hitting an all-time low almost two years ago in the wake of abuse scandals.
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U.S. churchgoers are satisfied with the sermons they hear, though content varies by religious tradition
There are differences by religious tradition in how satisfied churchgoers are with what they hear from the pulpit.
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Many churchgoers in U.S. don’t know the political leanings of their clergy
Among U.S. adults who attend services a few times a year or more, 45% say they’re not sure whether their clergy are Democrats or Republicans.
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U.S. Catholics less likely than Protestants to express confidence in advice from clergy
Catholics have less confidence in their clergy’s advice than Protestants – and are less likely to claim a close relationship with clergy.
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Americans’ perceptions about unethical behavior shape how they think about people in powerful roles
The more confident people are that members of powerful groups behave unethically, the less likely they are to have confidence in that group’s performance.
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Why Americans Don’t Fully Trust Many Who Hold Positions of Power and Responsibility
Members of Congress and technology leaders are rated lower in empathy, transparency and ethics; public gives higher scores to military leaders, public school principals and police officers
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