CNA Staff, Apr 15, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
The Pew Research Center released a new fact sheet Friday that contains nine demographic and statistical facts about the Catholic population in the United States, based on the center’s numerous surveys.
Here are Pew’s nine facts about Catholics in the United States.
- Twenty percent of American adults identify as Catholics — a stable number for the past 10 years.
Out of 262 million adults in the U.S., about 52 million would say they’re Catholic, Pew reports. In 2007, 24% of U.S. adults said they were Catholic.
- A third of all U.S. Catholics are Hispanic.
The Catholic population is 57% white, 33% Hispanic, 4% Asian, and 2% Black, while 3% are of another race, Pew reported.
- Catholics tend to be older than Americans overall, but Hispanic Catholics trend younger.
While more than half of U.S. Catholic adults overall are aged 50 or older, Hispanic Catholics break that mold. Fewer than half of Hispanic Catholics (43%) are 50 and older, and just 14% of Hispanic Catholics are ages 65 and older, versus 38% of white Catholics.
- Roughly 3 in 10 U.S. Catholics (29%) live in the South, while 26% live in the Northeast, 24% in the West and 21% in the Midwest.
Data cited by Pew, and other data previously covered by CNA, show that Catholicism is growing fastest in the South and West, even as it declines in the Midwest and the historically Catholic Northeast.
The racial and ethnic profile of the Catholic population varies considerably by region, Pew notes. For example, in the Midwest, 80% of Catholics are white and 17% are Hispanic. In the Northeast, 72% of Catholics are white and 19% are Hispanic.
In the South, 49% are white and 40% are Hispanic. And in the West, there are more Hispanic Catholics than white Catholics (55% vs. 30%), Pew says.
- About a third of U.S. Catholics (32%) have a bachelor’s degree.
Another 28% have some college experience but not a bachelor’s degree, and 40% have a high school education or less — a distribution similar to that of the general adult population.
- Just 3 in 10 U.S. Catholics (28%) say they attend Mass weekly or more often.
Pew compared this figure with the share of Protestants who attend weekly services, which they say is 40%.
Larger shares of Catholics say they pray daily (52%) and say religion is very important in their life (46%), Pew says. Overall, 20% of U.S. Catholics say they attend Mass weekly and pray daily and consider religion very important in their life.
By contrast, 10% of self-identified Catholics say they attend Mass a few times a year or less often, pray seldom or never, and consider religion “not too” or “not at all” important in their life.
- About half of Catholic registered voters (52%) identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, while 44% affiliate with the Democratic Party.
Other data has shown that the “Catholic electorate” is fairly evenly divided between the Republican and Democratic parties, while also suggesting that a substantial number of Catholics don’t identify with a party at all.
- About 6 in 10 U.S. Catholics say abortion should be legal, in contrast to the Church’s teaching.
This includes 39% who say it should be legal in most cases and 22% who say it should be legal in all cases, Pew says.
A key factor, Pew says, is that Catholics’ opinions about abortion tend to align more with their political leanings than with the teachings of their Church. Among Catholic Democrats, 78% say abortion should be legal in most or all cases. Among Catholic Republicans, 43% say this.
- Three-quarters of Catholics in the U.S. view Pope Francis favorably, though that figure has dipped by 8% since 2021.
Francis’ approval rating among U.S. Catholics reached 90% in Pew’s 2015 survey. By September 2018 — at a time when the entire Church was reeling from fresh scandals related to sexual abuse — the pope’s approval rating stood at just 72%, the lowest of his papacy. It had ticked back up to 83% three years later, before its latest dip to 75% in February of this year.
Pope Francis’ late predecessor Benedict XVI initially had a low approval rating of 67% among U.S. Catholics upon taking office in 2005. By 2008, however, his approval rating had reached 83%, and he closed out his papacy at 74%, in 2013.
Neither Benedict nor Francis has yet achieved the lofty heights set by the saintly Pope John Paul II, who in 1990 and 1996 garnered approval from 93% of U.S. Catholics, according to Pew’s data.
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An issue not addressed by the survey is contraception. Perhaps because they know the result already anyway. The vast majority of US Catholics do not disapprove of contraception. The Bishops typically sidestep this issue as they know how most people feel.
If 60% of Catholics view the horror of abortion favorably, I would put their favorability to contraception north of 90%.
Hard to grasp that Asians now outnumber by twice the black population. Although there continues to appear a quickly increasing presence of Asians in the media, in government. Hispanics remain the largest second to Whiteys. With the purposeful influx of migrating Hispanics including recent waves of Chinese, the Administration’s plan to overwhelm the electorate to Blue is going well. Also what needs to be accounted for is the ratio of births considered Catholics and the vast number continuing to decline practice that gives the overall figure for Catholics a starkly different value.
All is well on the Eastern Front in Rome the Pontiff’s laissez faire doctrine of amiable non demanding Catholicism washes away any thought of guilt among the apostate nominals. His Holiness can’t be faulted for a process that long preceded his pontificate, rather he deserves acclaim from Leftists and liberal Catholics for giving the movement his blessing.
It would be remiss if His Holiness is not recognized for contributing two crackerjack ideas to smooth the process, FS and the blessing of those in disordered relationships, plus DI and the eternal holiness of everyone.
Whiteys? Really?!
Thank you. I thought I was the only one…
Oh, here is a third…
Add me to the list. “Whiteys” is not acceptable.
Mrs Whitlock, although I’ve been called worse, I’m proud of being a Whitey. Guess my attempt at nuanced humor didn’t work.
The Pew research shows that there truly is no ‘Catholic’ church in the USA except for a small remnant who faithfully attend Mass and despise the murder of Holy Innocents in the womb. Much of this may be laid at the feet of our feeble ecclesiastical who only give mild lip service to this execrable Holocaust.
Second to Whiteys?You don’t sound like a real priest to me.
“Pew says, is that Catholics’ opinions about abortion tend to align more with their political leanings than with the teachings of their Church.” That statement is most concerning. I don’t understand how an individual would believe in a political party more strongly than they do their own church, as in The Church. This is a personal failure on so many levels.
Another way to look at it is that people who embrace Church teaching on her “not negotiable” doctrines have a home in only one major party, i.e., that’s why they are there and not the other way around.
Absolutely, Mr. Leonardi. I personally wish there was an alternate political party we could support. I’ve never really felt at home in the GOP, but it is what it is.
There is a party….it is called the American solidarity party….it’s platform id’s based on catholic social life especially pro life and pro family…..look it up
Thank you Ronald. Perhaps one day we’ll have a better choice of political party to affiliate with but I think it’s going to take some time to get momentum.
Whatever hope for reversing what is undeniable Catholic nihilism among willfully dumb Catholics from having been led by two intelligent popes for 35 years, has been obliterated by a Pope who says such childishly stupid things regarding Catholic morality like “The Church must no longer be a Church of No.”
“…. Catholics (28%) say they attend Mass weekly or more often … Protestants say they attend weekly service 40%.” I will argue that both Catholics and Protestant numbers are overwhelmingly too high. When it comes to self-reporting, we delude ourselves with how much TV we watch, how much we give to charity, how many calories we consume, and how often we attend church. I don’t recall the exact numbers, but there was a study done in a smallish NE Ohio town. They interviewed people on how often they attended religious services but then they counted cars in church parking lots on Sunday. Not even close. If you need to go somewhere and want to avoid traffic, go on Sunday morning.
I don’t like abortion, but I don’t make it a single issue when I vote. I do vote 100% Democrat. MAGA Protestants hate the Catholic Church and would like to ban us from the US if they could. There’s just too much of a divide between us for me to dance with the protestants. I’m also a pro-labor union Catholic and was a leader in my Federal employee union. I won’t vote for a fascist totalitarian just because that person opposes abortion. I prefer to live in freedom and to not impose my religious beliefs on anyone else.
“MAGA Protestants hate the Catholic Church and would like to ban us from the US if they could.”
I know quite a few such “MAGA Protestants,” and none of them hold a view remotely like this.
However, it’s quite clear that those who worship at the Altar of Abortion, Contraception, Homosexuality, and Transgenderism do indeed hate the Catholic Church and would happily destroy her if they could.
So, just saying…
Carl, do you forget that God gave people free will (re: abortion, contraception, homosexuality, transgender, etc. etc. etc.)? Why are you trying to take away people’s God-given right of free will?
You don’t have to agree with them, but it is not your God-given right to control other people or take away their own God-given rights.
I don’t understand why “live and let live” is the most difficult concept for Catholics to grasp. Just because you see something or someone is doing something you personally don’t like, that does not mean you get to boss them around or control their choices. You would not like it if anyone did that to you. Why do you think it is your place to do it to others?
Please explain to me why you think it is your place to control people. I want to understand.
Micha, don’t you think taking away an innocent life is about control?
True God gave each the gift of free will to chose between good and evil, the good to follow Him in obedience to His Way, His Life and His Truth or the evi, to sin, to go their own way from God. Yes, you are totally free to chose but remember choices have consequences intended and unintended in the here and now as well as the then and forever. The best we can hope and prat for you is to chose wisely every so wisely. Your soul is a terrible thing to lose. It is not the Catholics who shall judge you in the end but God. The best that the Catholic community can do is rebuke your sinful choices in the here and now with sufficient time for you and other to return to God. Good luck with your choices.
This is not worth replying to, but…. The absence of any standards or morality in a society , which is the basis of civilization, results in chaos. It can be argued the world was a happier safer place a few generations ago, when most people went to church and lived their lives according to moral principles. The spread of the early Catholic church was in large part responsible for a civilizing effect on the Roman empire, especially in terms of personal behaviors and what was acceptable ( a hard no on adultery, infanticide, wife beating, etc). Secularists like yourself would love to eradicate religion. How well has that worked out in places like China, Russia, Cuba, North Korea,and much of the Middle East?? Why, it would appear that their people have no rights at all, and their leaders not only tell them what to do, but have he power of life and death over them. Women in the Middle East are especially disposable. But we are starting to see here the result of less religion: the rapid increase of violent crimes, random physical attacks on mostly women by strangers, antisemitism, flash mob thefts,transgender surgeries on children,a rise in drug related deaths,serial casual sexual partners and broken families, abortions through the 9th month, and on and on. How are these good things again? People are making their choices, right?? So that should be great. These are all things opposed by the church for good reason. Many of these behaviors (adultery lets say), impact others such as the adulterer’s spouse and children. “Live and let live” or as some of us will say “anything goes”, has a major impact on society all around us. What we do in almost any action DOES affect others, for good or ill. For us to choose Good, as God would have us, we need a framework of knowledge and rules to help us understand how to behave. Which is why the juvenile perspective of “why cant I just do what I want?” does not work. It is the death of civilization, and the epitome of selfishness.Further, a quick reading of the Bible indicates that in addition to free will, God does favor some rules. Ten Commandments and all of that.
Its not about control of another person graced by God with free will. It about admonishing another who is placing their soul in jeopardy of damnation. It is what is termed a spiritual work of mercy. If the admonishing “pinches” perhaps it should be taken ever more seriously.
“It about admonishing another who is placing their soul in jeopardy of damnation.” Why do you believe it is your place to admonish anyone who doesn’t believe what you believe? They are exercising their God-given right to free will and you are 100% encroaching upon that.
Usn’t it up to God to do the “pinching” and for YOU to mind your own business?
Some people don’t want to be converted. Some people don’t want to share in or practice your religion. Some people have their own set of beliefs.
So why do you feel like it is your place to force your beliefs on others? That is you attempting to control others and denying their right to free will.
Hypocrisy is not and will never be ok.
Your whole question seems to center on the topic of sexuality. That smacks of wanting to justify doing any sexual activity you wish. Is adultery OK? Is Pedophilia? What about incest? What about bestiality? And if you think bestiality DOESN’T ever happen I will suggest you see some of the horrifying literature sent to me by animal rights groups. To address other topics, is stealing ok? Is murder? Are lines only drawn where they are convenient for YOU?? What about the ways your behavior impacts others? And what we do ALWAYS impacts others, even if unintended. Again, a society as a whole needs established rules and limitations and for much of civilization that has been derived from religious belief. These rules echo back to rules which GOD has handed us for a reason, to prevent injury to ourselves and others.Believers accept the idea that God created us, supports our every breath,and loves us, and thus we owe him worship, love and obedience in return.This is really not that hard to figure out.There are of course people who think this path is not for them.As you suggest, free will allows them to reject God and God’s laws, as they wish. Such folk usually do not believe in heaven or hell or an after-life. The real issue is, what if they are wrong?? An eternity separated from the God of all goodness seems like a really bad choice.
“Live and let live…”
Tell that to the pro-abortionists. They don’t want to let unborn babies live.
Even a ten-year-old can grasp that concept.
Did you learn you sense of moral logic from Charles Manson?
Those who practice contraception hate the Church? Nonsense.
I never met a contraceptivite with sufficient honorability to learn a thing about Catholic moral theology while not ridiculing it.
If you chose to abstain from contraception, fine and dandy. Just do not try to prevent others from employing contraception. It might be wise to stay out of married couples bedrooms.
Sometimes Mr. Baker those folks are not informed. Even just from a health & environment angle, many people have come to realize the risks of hormonal contraceptives.
One of my children taught NFP & consulted healthcare professionals. Some of the women who came to learn about NFP were not Catholic nor even people who believed in God. But learning about how miraculously we are made by our Creator can lead some people to Faith.
Women have turned their gift of natural fertility over to pharmaceutical companies to control & regulate.
I believe this as well. Good to see someone point it out.
John Paul II said a society that does not protect its most vulnerable cannot survive.
As an Evangelical Protestant for 47 years until I converted to Catholicism (and I attended Evangelical Protestant in which some of the best writers and pastors in the U.S. grew up; e.g., John Ortberg), I disagree with you that MAGA Protestants hate Catholics. First, I think the numbers of “MAGA” anything are greatly exaggerated. Also, I see nothing wrong with think and praying, “Make America Great Again.” But my main reason for disagreeing with your comment is that in the 47 years that I was a Protestant, I saw so much support and love for Catholics. Many of the missionaries I knew (and still know) work alongside of Catholics, especially in medical settings, in their country of ministry. Many Protestants first became aware of the evils of abortion when they worked and attended protest rallies and prayer meetings alongside of Catholics–and they also learned to respect, love, and even admire the Catholic dedication to ending abortion! Finally, great authors like Chuck Colson (R.I.P.), along with Father Richard Neuhaus (R.I.P.) started Evangelicals and Catholics Together, and there are other Protestants who have become involved with Catholics in various groups. Go talk to Protestants, please.
As a Catholic,I have traveled in largely Protestant circles in some personal and family affairs. I have never encountered an anti-Catholic person face to face. Maybe because in much of the country Catholics are so numerous. However in reading things online which allow public comment, I have run across more than a few comments by Protestants who must be on the fringe and say things like Catholics are not really Christians, or they say false things about Mary. I would NOT say these people are the majority of Protestants at all.
Nor have I EVER heard Protestant MAGA supporters attack Catholics. For that matter, they want to live and let live and I dont hear them attacking anyone, regardless of religion. I have voted Trump twice and will do so again, even if I have to write him in on the ballot.
I hope our Jewish brethren, who largely vote democrat, have had their eyes opened by the Biden administration’s attempts to undermine the Israeli war effort of late. Its time for them to support the Republicans.
Well I was raised Catholic and I’ve come to learn the teaching is All wrong! You are supposed to confess to God,not man! Jesus is the One and Only mediator not Mary! And it doesn’t matter if you go to church because our bodies are the church! Our mouths are supposed to shout how great Our God is and Our hearts are to be like Jesus and be kind to Each and every soul! Not judging and dividing because of race, religion or a political preference! But Catholics know this right? 🤔
Here is a little Bible 101: John 20:23 “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” And for extra credit read James 5:16 Gabriel, in all seriousness and love, I pray you sit in on a good RCIA program and reconsider The Church.
Gabriel, if you were to pray for me you would be a mediator yourself.
🙂
If Jesus is the one and only mediator, why didn’t he simply come to earth without Mary??
Our bodies are the church ONLy because the Church has the Body of Christ with which she may transform us INTO Christ’s body THROUGH Christ’s body which was made IN the power of the Holy Spirit, WITH MARY’s agreeing to be God’s intermediary and partner and helpmate in His Incarnation.
You would be better be served if you could serve God with your mouth closed until He helps you open it again in the Reconciliation Room. After that at your next Mass you could open your mind and your mouth to beg of Him to mediate your membership into Christ’s body. Then you could be made intelligent, good and beautiful by and through and with Him made through Mary and the Holy Spirit. READ SCRIPTURE silently. There you’ll find your friend, your faith and your Catholic Church again.
Jesus performed his first public miracle at Cana at the request of His mother. And as he was suffering on the cross he took the time to put his mother in the care of John the Apostle with his dying breath. Its very sad that Protestants feel so threatened that they feel the need to disparage our Lord’s mother.
Thank you to Ron (above) for quoting John 20:23— Jesus speaking to the Apostles: ” Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them and whose sins you retain they are retained.” Well, you could not have sins either forgiven or retained unless you TOLD them to the Apostles, correct?? Funny how Protestants like to skip over passages which do not fit their narrative. You can and should ask God to forgive you for sins ( hence the Act of Contrition). But Jesus gave us a process He wished us to follow.For Catholics that is Confession.
“I don’t like abortion, but I don’t make it a single issue when I vote. I do vote 100% Democrat”.
So why are you voting for Democrats who 100% LIKE abortion, often up until the moment of birth?
I’m a pro-life MAGA Catholic (yes, we exist) and let me just say that Joe Biden using the Catholic Faith as cover for his stance on abortion is despicable.
Christ is Risen, everyone. ☦️
Pro-life Catholic Democrats need to realize that the single most important social justice issue today is opposition to abortion, and that is upheld currently by the Republican party. When a nation ends the killing of its unborn, other social issues will be easier to address because people will no longer be viewed as objects.
Females (not women only) ages 9 to 50+, are raped, have life threatening pregnancies, live in dire poverty, etc. aren’t their lives of any value? Life is not so clear and simple as anti abortionists view it. It’s complicated and compassion and understanding are vital components for understanding how this is a life and death issue for the females and medical personnel involved.
Rape victims represent an exceedingly tiny percentage of pregnancies. And a clear majority of Americans, even pro-lifers, are generally supportive of a woman having access to abortion in the event of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother, propaganda from the left notwithstanding. Even in RED states which are trying to tighten up availability of abortion, a woman would still have a few months to make a decision. Pregnancy is NOT a disease to be eradicated. It is a normal bodily function. Women who “can’t ” become pregnant for whatever reason should think a little harder before they jump into bed with someone. There are too many repeaters at abortion clinics, and too many who push into the second and third trimester to do it. What the left wants is the most extreme abortion availability in all states at all times. Some of us would advocate for the exercise of more responsibility.
So why are pro-aborts so completely devoid of compassion and understanding? Why are pro-aborts completely, without a single exception, unwilling to operate a crisis pregancy center that provides aid and support to women seeking to save their child in difficult circumtances such as those thousands operated by pro-lifers, people whom pro-aborts, operating from a lack of compassion and understanding, with adolescent insistence call “anti-abortion?”
Jean, yes any girl or woman past puberty can become a mother. That’s just the way our biology works.
We don’t punish children for the crimes of their fathers. Feticide is not a treatment for sexual assault and is just a secondary violation of the mother.
Life itself may be complicated but Catholic moral teaching about the innocent child in the womb is pretty clear. I’d really recommend learning more about that and why every life has value, no matter what the circumstances are behind our conception.
Nice propaganda piece. There is no such thing as being “anti abortion.” People who oppose the destruction of life because it’s inconvenient are pro life. There are no “life and death issues.” That’s just histrionic emotional reasoning.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to conduct these surveys with distinctions between Catholics who are Catholic and Catholics who are anti-Catholic bigots.
Fact 10. Catholics in the US are not very good Catholics!
Some of the commentors to your articles refer to homosexual acts as homosexuality. That usage is confusing and misleading. Homosexuality is not sinful, it is a heavy cross, it is an unwilled condition. Homosexual acts are sinful, the condition of homosexuality is not.