When Pope Francis addresses Congress on Thursday, watch in the background on the C-SPAN feed for some uncomfortable fidgeting. That’s because he has plenty of material to make both Democrats and Republicans squirm. Since becoming pope in 2013, Francis has made one controversial statement after another on all kinds of, […] Read more »
Half in U.S. Continue to Say Gov’t Is an Immediate Threat
Almost half of Americans, 49%, say the federal government poses “an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens,” similar to what was found in previous surveys conducted over the last five years. When this question was first asked in 2003, less than a third of Americans held […] Read more »
How do American Catholics view Pope Francis and the Catholic Church?
As Pope Francis plans his first visit to the United States since becoming Pope, most American Catholics give him high marks for his leadership. Eight in 10 American Catholics approve of the direction Pope Francis is leading the Church, including more than half (53 percent) who say they approve strongly. […] Read more »
The People’s Pope: American Catholics Align With Pope Francis
While it is too soon to say whether Pope Francis’ speech will be well received by Congress, a new online survey shows that American Catholics are likely to agree with his less-than-traditional message. “The Shriver Report Snapshot: Insight Into the Conscience of the Complex Catholic” found that 86 percent of […] Read more »
Equal Treatment Prevails in Views on Gay Marriage
Most Americans say equality under the law trumps individual religious beliefs –- a view that leads to broad support for requiring recalcitrant County Clerk Kim Davis to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. In general, 74 percent in this ABC News/Washington Post poll say that when a conflict […] Read more »
Rowan County, Ground Zero in Gay Marriage License Fight
The fight over gay marriage this week runs through Rowan County, Ky., (population 25,000), where the local clerk won’t issue marriage licenses, and a judge ordered her to be jailed. … The country is full of counties like Rowan — places that are the exceptions to the dominant local culture, […] Read more »