Catholics in the U.S. “like what they’ve seen so far” in Pope Leo XIV, with 8 in 10 viewing the new pope favorably — and significant numbers of non-Catholics agreeing, according to a new study from Pew Research Center.
On Sept. 12, Pew released results from a survey conducted July 8 to Aug. 3 in both English and Spanish among a nationally representative panel of U.S. adults selected at random. The 9,916 participants included 1,849 Catholics.
Pew found that on balance, 84% of the nation’s Catholics hold a favorable view of Pope Leo, with 4% disapproving and 11% stating they have never heard of him.
Among U.S. Catholics who attend Mass weekly, that approval rating is even higher, with 95% viewing the pope favorably. U.S. Catholics who are in the pews on a monthly or yearly basis largely approve of him (84%), and even most self-identified Catholics who seldom or never attend Mass give the pope a thumbs-up (77%).
Of the survey respondents who are Catholic, 67% said they know “a little” about the new pope, with 25% admitting they “know nothing at all” about him, said Pew. Only 7% claimed to know “a lot” about the worldwide Catholic Church’s leader.
Although respondents are still learning who he is, Pope Leo enjoys popularity on both sides of the political aisle, with Pew noting, “Vast majorities of both Catholic Democrats (89%) and Republicans (84%) view Leo favorably.”
Non-Catholics “are even less familiar with Leo than Catholics are,” according to Pew. It found 31% saying they “have never heard of him,” but a majority (56%) reported viewing the American-born pontiff favorably.
More than half (52%) of U.S. Catholics are either uncertain as to how Pope Leo’s leadership will compare with that of his predecessor, Pope Francis, or “say they don’t know anything about the new pope to begin with,” Pew said.
One third (33%) expect Pope Leo’s leadership to be “pretty similar” to Pope Francis’ style, while 13% believe the new pope will be “pretty different” from his predecessor.
Gina Christian is a multimedia journalist for OSV News.
