As allegations and investigations of sex abuse in the Catholic Church become more widespread, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that confidence in the way Pope Francis is handling the crisis has plummeted among U.S. Catholics. CONT. Pew Read more »
Conflicted Catholic Conservative Republicans
One-fifth of Republicans are conservative or observant Catholics and look like the history of industrialized America that took pro-life, socially conservative, patriotic Catholics into the Republican Party, particularly in the Midwest and Northeast. That is why we conducted one of our focus groups for the Trump-GOP project among Catholic conservative […] Read more »
Pope Francis Favorability Down Sharply in U.S.
Americans’ opinions of Pope Francis have become less positive this month, with 53% now holding a favorable opinion of the pontiff, down from 66% in August. However, among U.S. Roman Catholics, perceptions of Francis are unchanged. CONT. RJ Reinhart, Gallup Read more »
The Politics-Religion Vortex Spins
… Religion and politics have been intertwined through much of American history, especially since Catholics starting moving here in large numbers. Americans’ party allegiances tended to follow their religious allegiances. Seemingly new to this century is the extent to which the reverse is true, that politics is driving religious identity. […] Read more »
Conservatism After Christianity: A new survey reveals the Republican Party’s religious divide
One of the many paradoxes of the Trump era is that our unusual president couldn’t have been elected, and couldn’t survive politically today, without the support of religious conservatives … but at the same time his ascent was intimately connected to the secularization of conservatism, and his style gives us […] Read more »
A fresh look back at 2016 finds America with an identity crisis
Two years after the 2016 election, there has been no single answer to the question: What happened? In an outcome that saw the popular vote and the electoral college diverge, theories abound, opinions are many and consensus fleeting. Now, a trio of political scientists have come forth with their answer […] Read more »