Poll: Americans Divided in Opinion of Pope Francis

ROME — Americans are split in their opinion of Pope Francis, with equal numbers “very favorable” and “very unfavorable” toward the Argentine pontiff, a poll reveals.

According to the September survey conducted by The Economist/YouGov, 12 percent of U.S. adults have a very favorable view of the pope while another 12 percent have a very negative view of him.

A larger share, 31 percent, have a “somewhat favorable” opinion of Francis and 14 percent have a “somewhat unfavorable” assessment of him.

A significant segment of the U.S. population (31 percent) answered that they “don’t know” whether they hold a favorable or unfavorable view of the current papacy.

Unsurprisingly, more than three times as many self-proclaimed liberals (57 percent) say they have a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of the pope as those who identify as conservatives (17 percent).

Similarly, 40 percent of Republicans who have an opinion as to the pope’s ideological leanings said he was “very liberal” or “liberal” whereas only 14 percent of Democrats said the same. Fewer than one in five of either group said they think the pope is “conservative” or “very conservative.”

Only four percent of Democrats think the pontiff is “too liberal” while more than nine times as many Republicans (39 percent) said the same.

Twelve percent of Democrats said they believe Francis to be “too conservative.”

Regarding how the Francis papacy has affected Americans’ opinion of the Catholic Church, 16 percent said that he has made them think “more positively” about the Church and an identical 16 percent said he has made them think “less positively” about the Church.

Along party lines, only four percent of Democrats think less positively about the Church because of Francis while more than 7 times as many (29 percent) Republicans say Francis has made them think of the Church less positively.

While overall 36 percent of those surveyed said the pope should take “an active part” in world affairs, the number dropped to 25 percent when dealing with U.S. domestic affairs. Nearly half (46 percent) of all respondents said the pope should “stay out” of U.S. domestic affairs.

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