Townhall reported this month how Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic church, called President Joe Biden’s claims that he is a faithful Catholic “incoherent.” Biden is an adamant supporter of abortion and has gone as far as advocating for the removal of the Hyde Amendment from the annual budget.
Poll numbers released this month show Biden’s approval numbers among Catholics and broken down by different demographics. There is a disparity between his approval rating from Catholic voters before the 2020 election and today.
A new Eternal World News Television (EWTN) News/RealClear Opinion Research poll released this month shows that Biden’s popularity is dropping among Catholic voters since the 2020 election.
In the findings, 45 percent of Catholics said they have a “favorable” view of Biden. Fifty-three percent of respondents said they have an “unfavorable” view of Biden. Voters were split evenly – 49 percent on each side – when asked if they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion on former President Donald Trump.
“In October 2020, according to the last EWTN/RealClear poll, he [Biden] was supported by 52% of Catholics in his head-to-head race against Donald Trump,” the EWTN write-up noted.
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The poll, taken immediately before the Supreme Court’s historic ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, asked respondents if they have a favorable view of the Supreme Court. Fifty-six percent said they have an “unfavorable” view of the Supreme Court.
Forty-seven percent of respondents said they have an “unfavorable” opinion about Republicans in Congress. Forty-seven percent of respondents also said they have an “unfavorable” opinion of Democrats in Congress.
Among white Catholics, Biden’s approval rating is 36 percent. Among Hispanic Catholics, his approval rating is 59 percent. Biden’s approval rating is 72 percent among black Catholics.
EWTN noted how Mass attendance did not noticeably impact Catholic voters’ views on Biden’s performance as president.
Looking at Mass attendance as a predictor of how Catholics are likely to vote, there is not a significant difference among Weekly, Monthly, and Less than Yearly attending Catholics in their view of the president, with his approval rating at 43% among Weekly Catholics, versus 46% for both of the other categories. His job approval numbers are almost identical to his favorability, with Catholics overall giving him a 47% job approval versus 53% disapproval.
There is a very significant difference between the way White and non-White voters view President Biden. His approval rating among White Catholics is 36%, but it is 59% among Hispanic Catholics and 72% among Black Catholics.
The poll delved into the abortion issue, where the majority of respondents acknowledged that abortion rights are in conflict with the Catholic faith. Biden, who is Catholic, is pro-abortion.
On the major national policy debate over abortion law, the poll found the usual conflicting results that while a plurality of Catholics (47%-42%) favored upholding Roe v. Wade, a solid majority (82%) supported ending abortion outright or imposing various regulations to limit it which would be forbidden under Roe. Only 18% expressed the opinion that abortion should be available to a woman for any reason at any time during her pregnancy.
On the question of parental consent for girls under the age of 18 for an abortion, 68% of Catholics believe this should be required, and 65% of all respondents acknowledged that abortion conflicts with Catholic teaching.
The poll found that 60% of Catholics would be less likely to support a political candidate who supports abortion until birth, compared to only 32% who said this would make them more likely to support a candidate. As for other factors that impact how Catholics weigh their upcoming vote for Congress, 68% indicate that their faith is either very (37%) or somewhat (31%) important in their decision-making process.
The poll surveyed 1,757 likely Catholic voters on faith, political and public policy issues.
Dr. Matthew Bunson, executive editor and Washington bureau chief at EWTN, said on a call with reporters that one of the immediate takeaways from the poll was the “reverse image of what we saw heading into the [2020] election.”
“We have seen a marked deterioration across the board in [Biden’s] support,” he said. He added that those who attend Mass regularly tend to be “much less supportive” of Democrats and those who attend Mass less frequently tend to support Democrats.
“We’re seeing these numbers then lining up,” he said. “What is striking about the current poll that we have is that President Biden is underwater with all of these groups.”
