Pope will find divided flock in U.S. visit, survey says

When Pope Francis visits the U.S. Sept. 22 to 27, he'll be addressing a Catholic population supportive of him personally but divided on some of the church's key teachings, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center.

After stops in New York City and Washington, D.C., the Pope will preside over the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia at a time when more and more of America's approximately 50 million Catholics are open to non-traditional forms of the family.

While an overwhelming majority, about 94 per cent, of respondents say a married mother and father raising a child is ideal, 84 per cent say unmarried parents living together is acceptable. Large majorities also say families headed by a gay or lesbian couple, divorced parents or single parents are also acceptable.

"This may be in part because Francis's American flock is experiencing life in all its modern complexity," the survey's authors write, noting one-quarter of U.S. Catholics have gone through a divorce, and one in 10 is living in a common-law relationship. 

Complicated relationship

The complicated relationship many Americans have with the Catholic church is clearly seen on issues of sexuality. Forty-four per cent say homosexual behaviour is a sin compared to 39 per cent who say it isn't.

On the question of whether gay marriage should be allowed by the church, results are split with 46 per cent on either side. 

There appears to be strong support among U.S. Catholics for the church to change its position on key issues:

• 76 per cent think the church should allow the use of birth control.
• 62 per cent think priests should be allowed to marry.
• 59 per cent want to see women become priests.

While there is a desire for change, the survey found that Catholics weren't optimistic major changes would come in the near future.

The Francis Effect

There's been a lot of discussion about the so-called Francis Effect, and if the Pope's personal popularity would be enough to convince some lapsed Catholics to return to the fold. The survey found 77 per cent of those who were raised Catholic but left the church say they will not return.

The numbers are a bit more optimistic among what the survey describes as Cultural Catholics — those who were raised Catholic and, while they don't consider it their primary religion, still have a link through culture, family or ethnicity.

• Read the full Pew report

Francis rates highly among Cultural Catholics, with 43 per cent saying they could see themselves returning to the church. He is also popular among ex-Catholics, with a 59 per cent approval rating.

A more difficult reception

While his popularity is high overall, the survey results show Francis may have a difficult time finding a home for his message about curbing excess and helping the environment.

Only a third of those surveyed said that working to address climate change is an essential part of what it means to be Catholic. Similarly, only 23 per cent think it's a sin to use energy without consideration for the environment.

The survey's authors acknowledge that the questions were asked before the Pope's highly publicized encyclical on the environment was released in June, so the responses may not represent current attitudes. 

The survey was  conducted May 5 to June 7 on landlines and cellphones among a national probability sample of 5,122 adults including 1,016 self-identified Catholics, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for Catholics and plus or minus 1.6 percentage points for the full sample.