Catholics in the U.S. have swung dramatically against President Biden in recent years, now boasting a significant statistical break towards his GOP challenger.
Pew Research released on Apr. 30 a report exploring support for presidential candidates sorted by religious affiliation.
The poll found that 55% of Catholics support or lean towards supporting former President Donald Trump in a head-to-head against Biden.
People attend Sunday mass at Saint Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral in New York City on Oct. 16, 2022. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)
Conversely, only 43% of Catholics support Biden in the same one-on-one pairing.
The 12% margin of support in favor of Trump marks a significant shift from 2020, when he held an extremely narrow lead — 50% to 49%.
Biden currently leads among Hispanic Catholics with a narrow 49%-47% split, but the close contest marks a major shift rightward for the demographic. In 2020, a similar poll from Pew Research found Hispanic Catholics preferred Biden to Trump with a staggering 67%-26% split.
BIDEN ‘DOESN’T UNDERSTAND THE CATHOLIC FAITH,’ BISHOP SAYS: ‘I’M NOT ANGRY AT HIM, HE’S JUST STUPID’
President Biden speaks at an event near the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 5, 2023. (Cheney Orr/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Approximately 60% of protestants expressed support for Trump, according to the April survey. Conversely, about 38% said they leaned toward Biden.
Atheists, agnostics, and the religiously unaffiliated broke in favor of Biden by a large margin — approximately 69% said they would back the Democratic incumbent while only 28% voiced support for Trump.
The congregation at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston follows along to the Lord’s Prayer while celebrating Solemn Mass on March 31. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Biden has leaned into his Catholic identity in his presidential campaigns, asserting himself as a devout believer despite blatant disregard for non-negotiable church teachings.
However, Catholic leaders have pushed back on this self-characterization and pointed out his support of policies utterly contrary to the faith, such as pro-choice deregulation and affirmation of gender ideology.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., previously called Biden a “cafeteria Catholic” — saying he “picks and chooses dimensions of the faith to highlight while ignoring or even contradicting other parts.”
Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and can email him at [email protected]
