Recent polling data indicates a notable shift among Catholic voters in the United States, who are increasingly favoring the GOP challenger over Joe Biden. According to a Pew Research report released on April 30, 55% of Catholics now support or lean toward supporting 45th President Donald Trump in a direct matchup against Biden.
This represents a 12% margin of support for Trump, a significant change from the closely contested 2020 figures, where Trump held a slight edge of 50% to 49%. This swing is even more pronounced among Hispanic Catholics. While Biden currently leads this demographic with a 49%-47% margin, it marks a substantial departure from the 2020 poll, where Hispanic Catholics preferred Biden over Trump by a 67%-26% margin.
On the other hand, Biden continues to find strong support among atheists, agnostics, and the religiously unaffiliated, with approximately 69% backing the Democratic incumbent, compared to 28% for Trump.
The poll also found that about 60% of Protestants support Trump, while around 38% lean toward Biden.
The shift in Catholic support has broader implications given Biden’s public embrace of his Catholic faith in his political identity, which he asserts despite criticisms from some Catholic leaders regarding his stance on certain issues. These leaders have taken issue with Biden’s support for policies they view as contrary to church teachings, such as pro-choice deregulation and affirmation of gender ideology.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington D.C. has notably criticized Biden, labeling him a “Cafeteria Catholic” for selecting which aspects of the faith to emphasize and which to overlook or contradict. This term suggests a selective approach to religious adherence, picking and choosing elements that suit one’s preferences rather than a holistic practice of faith.
These dynamics highlight the evolving relationship between religious affiliation and political alignment in the context of U.S. presidential politics, suggesting a complex interplay between personal faith and public policy preferences among voters.