According to a recent EWTN News/RealClear Opinion Research Poll of potential Catholic voters conducted on Monday, the majority of Catholics say that President Joe Biden, the country’s second Catholic president, should not seek reelection in 2024.
The survey, which was conducted Sept. 12–19, reveals that as election day, Nov. 8, approaches, Biden is still having trouble winning over Catholic voters. The survey shows that Hispanic Catholic voters, who have historically been a significant source of support for the Democratic Party, are losing interest in the president.
The poll’s most notable findings are that Catholic voters consider the economy and inflation to be the most pressing problems confronting the nation, and that the majority of them are highly worried about the quality of education, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdowns.
A significant portion of the poll’s findings provide an overview of how Catholic voters feel about Biden’s performance after two years in office.
Nearly 52% of Catholic voters said that they either disliked (5%) or strongly disapproved (47%), while 46% said they either approved (32%) or strongly approved (14%), when asked how they thought Biden is performing his role as president. Notably, the ratio of strongly disapproving to strongly agreeing was far larger. Only 2% of voters were undecided.
The majority of Catholics (58%) believe that Biden should not seek re-election in 2024, while just 22% of Catholics favor such a move; the remaining 19% are unsure. Additionally, the majority of Catholics (67%-27%, with 10% unsure) oppose the former president Donald Trump’s 2024 reelection bid.
The study shows Democrats lagging Republicans by four points in the general election for Congress, which may possibly reflect the president’s difficulties. Nearly 49% of Catholics said they would vote for a Republican candidate, 45% for a Democrat, and the remainder said they were unsure when asked which candidate they would support. Given that Democratic supporters are more regionally dispersed, this gap understates the Republican advantage in the battle for control of Congress.
This most recent survey maintains the well-established statistical gap between Catholics who regularly attend Mass and those who only do so seldom or never.
Catholics who go to Mass once a week or more often say they would vote for the Republican candidate 75% of the time, compared to 54% of those who go a few times a year or less.
Catholics are split over the president’s performance in office. Seventy-five percent of Catholics who go to Mass at least weekly or more often disapprove of the president’s job performance, compared to 53 percent of Catholics who go to Mass just sometimes.
The Trafalgar Group’s poll, which included 1,581 Catholic voters, had a margin of error of 2.5%. Six various techniques, including live phone calls, text messages, and emails, were used to distribute the questionnaire.
In the days leading up to the midterm elections, a third and final EWTN News/RealClear survey will concentrate on the Catholic vote.
Abortion divides Catholics
A survey of Catholic voters conducted after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey on June 24, revealed that Catholics are still very divided on the topic of abortion, despite the fact that an overwhelming majority (87%) favors various restrictions on the procedure.
Catholic voters are virtually equally divided on whether they agree or disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, with 48% believing that abortion should be a nationally protected right and 46% believing that each state should set its own abortion laws; 6% were unsure. Nevertheless, 13% of Catholics believe that a woman should be allowed to have an abortion whenever she chooses during the course of her pregnancy, while 8% believe that abortion should never be authorized.
The majority of Catholics support restrictions ranging from allowing abortion only in cases of rape, incest, or to save the mother’s life (27%), up until 15 weeks, when the baby can feel pain (20%), only during the first six months of pregnancy (13%), until a heartbeat can be detected (10%), or only to save the mother (9%). 75% of Catholics who go to Mass once a week or more support overturning Roe, but just 50% of those who go a few times a year or less think abortion should be a right that is protected by the government.
With 42% saying they would be more inclined to support a candidate who agrees with the overturning of Roe v. Wade and 42% saying they would be less likely, Catholics are equally split; 16% are unsure.
Approximately two-thirds of Catholic voters favor public financing for pregnancy resource centers, where expectant women may seek assistance with abortion alternatives; 18% are against, and the remaining 35% are unsure about the current debate surrounding these facilities. Similarly, 62% believe political and religious leaders should condemn the recent assaults and vandalism against pregnancy assistance centers, as opposed to 15% who disagree and another 23% who are unsure.
Jobs and inflation are two key concerns.
However, as Catholic voters prepare for the November elections, abortion is not their top concern. Abortion is a big part of the Democratic campaign for the 2022 election, although it is not the most crucial topic by a considerable margin. While 34% of Catholics answer inflation and another almost 20% say the economy/jobs, just 10% of Catholics believe abortion is the most significant problem facing the country—tied with immigration.
Catholics experience the effects of inflation just like the majority of Americans. When asked how much inflation has damaged their personal finances, 81% of Catholic voters respond that it has, while just 19% respond that it hasn’t or hasn’t at all.
While almost 32% blame the global slowdown brought on by COVID-19 or the Russian invasion of Ukraine (more than 9%), a majority (41%) blame Biden and his administration, and 17% say all of the above or they don’t know. Catholics exhibit low faith in the effectiveness of the Inflation Reduction Act, which the president just signed into law. While 37% of Catholics say they have a great deal or some faith in it, the majority (54%) say they don’t have much or any confidence that it would lower inflation, and the remaining 23% are unsure.
Democratic and Biden support among Hispanics is declining
A potentially important finding of the study was a fall in Hispanic Catholics’ support for the president and Democrats generally, a typically dependable Democrat voting group.
Half of Hispanic Catholics who were questioned about Biden’s performance as president said they either strongly approved (11%) or approved (39%), while roughly 47% said they either disapproved (7%) or definitely disapproved (40%). In comparison to 44% who either highly approve (16%) or approve (28%), Biden’s support among white Catholics is much lower at 54% strongly disliking (51%) or disapproving (4%). He has a 90% acceptance rating among African-American Catholics, with 12% strongly endorsing him and 78% endorsing him. Biden’s support rating among white Catholics was 36%, that of Hispanic Catholics was 59%, and that of Black Catholics was 72% according to the first EWTN/RealClear survey conducted in July.
The president is up against a significant electoral and demographic challenge, which raises the question of whether he should seek reelection. Only 17% of white Catholics believe he ought to run, while 62% disagree. Only 28% of Hispanic Catholics believe he should run, while 53% disagree. 94% of Catholic African Americans believe he should run again.
Hispanic Catholics are now equally split when asked which candidate they prefer for the upcoming midterm elections, with 45% supporting the Democrat and 44% supporting the Republican. Republicans have a 51%–44% advantage among white Catholics. 90%–10% of Black Catholics support Democrats.
educational issues
Education is a different issue that troubles many Catholics, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak and the lockdowns that affected schools all throughout the nation. Approximately 17% of Catholics stated they were not worried, and 10% said they were unsure about the “COVID gap” in pupils that has resulted in their loss of substantial intellectual and social development. Three-quarters of Catholics indicated they are concerned about this issue.
A majority of Catholics (nearly 78%) either strongly support (47%) or support (21%) school choice, a policy that permits students to go to the services or schools that best suit their needs, including a public school, private school, charter school, home school, parochial school, or any other learning environment a family may choose; 26% either strongly oppose (17%) or oppose (9%) school choice.
Additionally, majorities of Catholics oppose Critical Race Theory (CRT) being taught in the classroom (60%-29%), oppose biological males who identify as female playing against biological girls on school sports teams (76%-14%), and favor parental involvement in what is taught in schools (64%-31%).
Real Presence is believed by 50% of Catholics.
Approximately 84% of Catholics believe in paradise, according to research on Catholic doctrine and practice. 77% of people believe in hell, and 65% believe in purgatory, according to previous surveys. The majority of Catholic voters (77%) likewise hold this belief.
Only 1% of Catholics report going to Mass every day, 7% report going more than once a week, 24% report going once a week, 10% report going once or twice a month, 26% report going a few times a year, 5% report going once a year, and 26% report going less than once a year or never.
Belief in the Real Presence of the Eucharist is matched by the numbers of those who attend Mass. According to the most recent survey, 50% of Catholics think that the bread and wine have been converted into the Body and Blood of Christ, while 40% feel that the bread and wine are only symbols of the Body and Blood of Christ, and 10% are unsure. However, just 26% of Catholics visit the confessional at least once a year or on a regular basis, and 50% never do.