This latest survey offers an in interesting glimpse at the thinking of the people in the pews. And, as with so many of these surveys, a lot depends on how often those who are surveyed actually go to church.
With the death of Pope Francis, the College of Cardinals is expected to gather May 7 to choose the next head of the Catholic Church. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in early February – before the pope’s hospitalization on Feb. 14 – finds that majorities of U.S. Catholics express views that differ from church teachings on issues such as birth control, marriage and the priesthood. For example:
- 84% of U.S. Catholics say the church should allow Catholics to use birth control.
- 83% say the church should allow couples to use in vitro fertilization (IVF) to get pregnant.
- 68% say the church should allow women to become deacons.
- 63% say the church should allow priests to get married.
- 59% say the church should ordain women as priests.
When asked to choose which of two contrasting statements comes closer to their view, 60% of U.S. Catholics say the church “should be more inclusive, even if that means changing some of its teachings,” while 37% say the church “should stick to its traditional teachings, even if that means the church gets smaller.”
On all these topics, there are large differences between the responses of Catholics who go to church at least once a week and those who do not.
Those who say they go weekly are:
- 20 points less likely to favor allowing priests to get married (49% vs. 69%)
- 18 points less likely to favor allowing Catholics to use birth control (72% vs. 90%)
- 17 points less likely to favor allowing couples to use IVF (71% vs. 88%)
Slightly more than half of Catholics who attend Mass weekly (56%) say the church should not allow women to become priests, while 66% say the church should not recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples.
