New Poll: Many American Catholics (44%) View Their Leader As An Influential Political Figure & An Independent Maverick

Four in nine (44%) Say Pope Francis Has Brought Them Closer to Church, 4 in 10 Say Catholic Church Out of Step with Social and Cultural Values and 38% Have Considered Leaving Church

"Good Catholics" can be Divorced (94%), Be Married to Someone of the Same Sex (72%), have had an Abortion (73%), Use Birth Control (94%) and Support Same-Sex Marriage (76%) and Women Priests (88%); You Can't Be a "Good Catholic" and put Personal Financial Gain Above the Well-Being of Others (63%)

American Catholics Overwhelmingly Support Pope Francis' Focus on the Poor (86%); Majority Feel Catholic Church is More Concerned with Upholding Power Than Serving the Poor (52%)

One in Three American Catholics believe a Catholic President Would be Beholden to the Vatican Fifty-Five Years After JFK Religion Speech

Liberals, Moderates and Conservative Catholics All More Likely to See Pope Francis as Aligned with their Politics, Majority See Catholic Church as Conservative

News provided by

Shriver Media

Sep 21, 2015, 08:30 ET

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Pope Francis is an adept political maverick. In just two years, the Vatican's unorthodox leader has mobilized the most devout and adherent in his American flock and also moved those not regularly in the pews. His championing of the poor, prisoners, immigrants, women and the environment as well as his compassion for the LGBTQ community have been positively received by American Catholics. He wears the ceremonious trappings of the Vatican but is viewed as an independent maverick untouched by the negative perceptions of Rome.

A new Shriver Report Snapshot: Insight into the Complex Catholic reveals that when Pontifex touches down on US soil this week, he will be welcomed by a complex congregation of American Catholics more closely aligned with his teachings than the Vatican he represents. Huge majorities of American Catholics believe that you can be a "good Catholic" and be divorced, use birth control, marry someone of the same sex, have had an abortion and support women priests.

The Shriver Report Snapshot: Insight into the Complex Catholic, the groundbreaking new poll from Shriver Media conducted by Democratic polling firm, Hart Research Associates and Republican polling firm, Echelon Insights, took the temperature of 1,000 American Catholics and shows that four in nine (44%) believe that Pope Francis is both an influential religious and political leader. Later this week, His Holiness must walk a delicate tight-rope to appeal to this complex American congregate, dip into complicated domestic politics in his historic address to a joint session of Congress, and remain adherent to the bureaucracy he leads.

"Pope Francis ditched the Prada slippers and lush Vatican living and urged acceptance of otherwise marginalized groups. He has captured our hearts, minds and headlines. Our Snapshot reveals a new brand of world leader who gracefully connects with a politically and dogmatically divided electorate. Our poll shows a highly complex American congregation hungry for an independent maverick whose teachings reflect their own modern values," said Maria Shriver, founder of Shriver Media and creator of the Shriver Report Project.

FULL RESULTS & PRESS RELEASE AVAILABLE AT SHRIVERMEDIA.COM/SHRIVERREPORTPROJECT

By 86% to 14% American Catholics believe that it is a good thing that Pope Francis has emphasized looking out for the poor and preserving the environment over social issues such as sex and reproductive rights.
A majority (71%) of American Catholics consider themselves "good Catholics". Majorities believe that you can still be a good Catholic and be divorced (94%), be married to someone of the same sex (72%), have had an abortion (73%) and pre-marital sex (88%), support women priesthood (88%), same sex marriage (76%) and the deportation of undocumented immigrants (71%). A majority (63%) say you cannot be a "good Catholic" and place personal wealth and financial gain over the well-being of others.
However, just 48% of American Catholics say they would be very comfortable teaching their son or daughter about contraception and only 28% would be very comfortable if their son or daughter took part in a same-sex marriage. Only 16% would be very comfortable supporting the decision of their child to terminate a pregnancy and while nearly nine-in-ten American Catholics (88%) believe that you can be a good Catholic and support women as priests in the Catholic Church, only 44% would be very comfortable attending a Catholic Church with a female priest.
44% of American Catholics say that Pope Francis has made them closer to their faith while only 5% say he has pushed them away.
Four-in-ten (42%) American Catholics say the Church is out of touch with their social and cultural values and 38% report they have strongly considered leaving Catholicism at some point. Particularly damning for the Church, younger Americans (18-34) are twice as likely as seniors to have considered leaving the pews. A majority (52%) of American Catholics feel the Catholic Church is more interested in preserving institutional power than serving the poor. Fully, 82% believe that the Catholic Church has not done enough to crack down on the sex abuse scandal.
Liberal Catholics are most likely to view Pope Francis as liberal (48%), moderate Catholics are most likely to say he is moderate (55%) and conservative Catholics say he is either conservative (37%) or moderate (38%).
Nearly all Catholics (96%) see Pope Francis as an influential religious figure. But nearly half (48%) see him as an influential political leader, including 44% who say he is both an influential religious and political figure.
One in three (33%) Catholic Americans believe that a Catholic President would be first beholden to the Vatican than to the American people. Interestingly, Catholic Americans under fifty, who have never had a Catholic president in office, are three times more likely to believe this than those over fifty.
71% of Catholic Americans say they would have concerns about a president who does not believe in God while only 17% said they would have concerns about a candidate who was not Catholic.

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POLL METHODOLGY: From August 28 to September 2, 2015, Hart Research and Echelon Insights conducted an online survey among 1,000 Catholics nationwide. The firms contracted with a third-party vendor, Research Now, to send invitations to its panel of 2.3 million respondents. The survey is nationally representative of the adult population of Catholics age 18 and older and comports with publicly available demographic and polling data for that population. An online survey that is self- administered particularly is useful for a survey such as this that explores potentially controversial and sensitive topics such as attitudes about religion, faith, and sex. Hart Research, a Democratic polling firm, conducted this study in partnership with the Republican firm Echelon Insights and the firm's co-founder and partner, Kristen Soltis Anderson.

Read Maria Shriver's Faith Series with inspiring stories from Melinda Gates, Deepak Chopra, Pema Chodron, Sister Joan Chittister and many more: http://mariashriver.com/blog/category/faith/

Michelle Levi, Shriver Media // [email protected] //203-803-5851

SOURCE Shriver Media