Pope Francis still elicits no recognition or no opinion from 25% of Americans, down from 31% at the start of his papacy in early 2013.
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A new poll from Gallup reveals, despite Pope Francis’ involvement in global debates and an upcoming trip to the US, the head of the Catholic church’s favorability in the US among conservatives has plummeted.
“This decline may be attributable to the pope’s denouncing of “the idolatry of money” and linking climate change partially to human activity, along with his passionate focus on income inequality – all issues that are at odds with many conservatives’ beliefs“, Gallup noted.
It also noted that Francis’ ratings are still higher than those of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who bottomed out at 40 percent in 2010. Many liberals have criticized the pope for not embracing ordination of women as priests or allowing priests to marry.
Another major factor is that the number of those who expressed “no opinion” about the pope or said they don’t know enough about him rose from 16 percent to 25 percent.
But Francis is still less popular over his entire term than Pope John Paul II, who preceded Benedict. However, on average, a significantly higher percentage of Americans said they had never heard of Pope Benedict, reaching 39% in 2005.
The largest drop in approval was found among conservatives, whose favorability rating of Francis fell a whopping 27 percentage points – 72 percent in 2014 to 45 percent in 2015.
Pope Francis is still viewed favorably among Americans, but his image has declined since early 2014.
The latest poll comes as Francis prepares to make his first visit to the United States in September, where he will travel to New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. While in the nation’s capital, he will become the first pope to address a joint session of Congress, and Jumbotrons will be set up outside the Capitol for an expected overflow crowd.
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The survey of more than 1,000 adults had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Gallup says it expects his approval rating to rebound with the visit. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.
