Poll Measures Americans' Views as Pope's Reign Begins

Just over a month after Leo XIV became the first US-born pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, a new poll shows that American Catholics are feeling excited about their new religious leader. About two-thirds of respondents have a "very" or "somewhat" favorable view of Pope Leo, according to the new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, while about 3 in 10 say they don't know enough to have an opinion. Few US Catholics—less than 1 in 10—view him unfavorably, the AP reports. Among Americans overall, plenty of people are still making up their minds about Leo. But among those who do have an opinion, sentiments are overwhelmingly positive.

• Among Americans: The survey found that 44% of US adults have a "somewhat" or "very" favorable view of Pope Leo XIV. A similar percentage say they don't know enough to have an opinion, and only about 1 in 10 see him unfavorably. Americans with very different views about the future of the church are optimistic about his pontificate. Terry Barber, a 50-year-old Catholic Democrat from Sacramento, hopes Leo will seek a "more progressive and modern church" that is more accepting of all. "I'm looking forward to seeing what, if any changes, come about under his leadership," Barber said.
• Bipartisan appeal: About half of Democrats have a favorable view of the new pope, as do about 4 in 10 Republicans and independents. Republicans are a little more likely to be reserving judgment. About half of Republicans say they don't know enough to have an opinion about the pope, compared to about 4 in 10 Democrats. But Republicans are no more likely than Democrats to have an unfavorable opinion of the pope. About 1 in 10 in each group view Pope Leo unfavorably.
• No political gap: Being a political liberal or conservative, of course, isn't the same thing as identifying as a liberal or conservative Catholic. But the poll found no discernible partisan gap among Catholics on Pope Leo, and Catholics across the ideological spectrum have expressed hope that Leo will heal divisions that emerged under Pope Francis. Leo recently criticized the surge of nationalist political movements in the world as he prayed for reconciliation and dialogue—a message in line with his pledges to make the Catholic Church a symbol of peace.
• Women's roles: Before becoming pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms of Pope Francis' pontificate by having women serve on the Vatican board that vets nominations for bishops. He also has said decisively that women cannot be ordained as priests. Donald Hallstone, 72, of Oregon, said he expects that Leo will continue to promote women in governance positions. "It'd be great to see women in those roles," he said. "Women were not excluded in the first centuries."

• Marriage and abortion: On the other hand, some right-wing US Catholics want Leo will focus on Catholic doctrinal opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion.
• One perspective: Victoria Becude, 38, a Republican from Florida, said she's against same-sex relationships because she believes that unions should be between a man and a woman, something that Pope Leo has reiterated. Even though she describes herself as "very conservative," she's in favor of reproductive rights even when church teaching opposes abortion. "I don't believe that they should stop women from having abortions," she said. "We should have our own rights because you don't know the circumstances behind the reason why a woman would want the abortion in the first place."
• Hometown support: Mercedes Drink, 31, is from the pope's hometown of Chicago. She hopes that women to see women ordained. "It's cool; I like him because he brings something different," said Drink, who identifies as being part of the "religious nones"— atheists, agnostics, or nothing in particular. "As a young woman, I hope that he can bring change. … I hope he opens the world's eyes to modernizing the church, bringing more people in, having more diversity."

The AP-NORC poll of 1,158 adults was conducted June 5-9 and reports a margin of sampling error for adults overall of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

(More Pope Leo XIV stories.)