Among Catholics, Democrats more likely than Republicans to rate Pope Francis positively % ofU.S. Catholics who have afavorable opinion
U.S. Catholics are more likely than the general public to have a positive assessment of Francis. About three-quarters of Catholics (77%) now view the pope favorably, which is 10 percentage points lower than the share who did so in January 2017 (87%) but not statistically different from the ratings recorded in January or September 2018. (Even though the 2018 and 2020 surveys produced different estimates of the share of Catholics who view Pope Francis favorably, the differences between the current survey and each of the surveys conducted in 2018 do not pass a test of statistical significance.)
A January 2018 survey found growing partisan polarization in views of Pope Francis, with Catholic Republicans holding less favorable views of the pontiff than Catholic Democrats. That polarization persists today, with roughly nine-in-ten (87%) Catholic Democrats and Democratic leaners viewing Francis favorably compared with 71% among Catholic Republicans and Republican leaners.
Among Catholics, Democrats more  | likely than Republicans to rate Pope  | Francis positively  | % ofU.S. Catholics who have afavorable opinion  | ofPope Francis  | Democrat/lean Democratic  | 100%  | 87%  | 84%  | 77%  | 71%  | Republican/lean Republican  | SEPT FEB  | FEB. JUNE  | JAN  | JAN. SEPT  | JAN.  | 13 14  | 15 15  | '20  | '17  | '18  | 18  | Note: Data points for March 2013 and October 2015 are not  | included due to insufficient sample size  | Source: Survey conducted Jan. 8-13, 2020  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 