American Catholics in 2013
The American Catholic population continues to undergo significant changes.
The ethnic makeup of American Catholics has grown more diverse over the past two decades. In 1990, nearly 8-in-10 (78 percent) Catholics were white, while less than 1-in-5 (14 percent) were Hispanic. Today, less than two-thirds (63 percent) of Catholics are white, while nearly 3-in-10 (29 percent) Catholics are Hispanic. [1990 National Survey of Religious Identification; PRRI Pre-Election American Values Survey, October 2012]
Catholics remain one of the largest religious groups in the United States, but they have experienced a significant decline in membership. Although one-third (31 percent) of Americans report that they were raised Catholic, only 22 percent currently identify that way, a net loss of nine percentage points. Notably, 12% of Americans today are former Catholics. [PRRI Pre-Election American Values Survey, October 2012]
American Catholics’ Perspectives on Church Priorities and Tradition:
More than 6-in-10 (60 percent) American Catholics agree that in its statements about public policy, the Catholic Church should focus more on social justice and the obligation to help the poor, even if it means focusing less on issues like abortion and the right to life. By contrast, nearly one-third (31 percent) American Catholics agree that the Catholic Church should focus more on abortion and the right to life in its statements about public policy, even if means focusing less on issues like social justice and the obligation to help the poor. [PRRI Pre-Election American Values Survey, October 2012]
Among Catholics who attend church at least once a week, a slim majority (51%) believe the Church’s public policy statements should focus more on social justice and helping the poor, compared to 36% who believe that the Catholic Church should focus more on issues like abortion and the right to life. [PRRI Pre-Election American Values Survey, October 2012]
More than 4-in-10 (42 percent) American Catholics say that their church should preserve its traditional beliefs and practices, while a majority say either that their church should adjust traditional beliefs and practices in light of new circumstances (37 percent) or adopt modern beliefs and practices (16 percent). [PRRI Pre-Election American Values Survey, October 2012]
American Catholics on the Issues:
Same-sex Marriage
A majority (54 percent) of Catholics favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally. Catholics are, meanwhile, divided on whether sex between two adults of the same gender is morally acceptable (44 percent) or morally wrong (47 percent). [PRRI Pre-Election American Values Survey, October 2012]
Majorities of both white Catholics (54 percent) and Hispanic Catholics (57 percent) favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally. [PRRI Pre-Election American Values Survey, October 2012]
Contraception and Abortion
A majority (53 percent) of Catholics agree that abortion should be legal in all or most cases; however, nearly 6-in-10 (57 percent) Catholics also believe that abortion is morally wrong. [PRRI Pre-Election American Values Survey, October 2012]
A majority of white Catholics (56 percent) say that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared to less than half (43 percent) of Hispanic Catholics. A majority (55 percent) of Hispanic Catholics believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. [PRRI Pre-Election American Values Survey, October 2012]
More than 8-in-10 (81 percent) Catholics agree that using artificial birth control methods also known as contraceptives is morally acceptable. [PRRI Pre-Election American Values Survey, October 2012]
Catholics are evenly divided over whether they believe methods of birth control should be generally available to teenagers 16 years of age or older (49% favor, 49% oppose). [PRRI-RNS Religion News Survey, March 2012]
Death Penalty
A majority (52 percent) of Catholics say that people convicted of murder should receive life in prison with no chance of parole, while 41 percent prefer the death penalty. A slim majority (51 percent) of Catholics say the death penalty is morally acceptable, compared to 60 percent of Americans overall. [PRRI Pre-Election American Values Survey, October 2012]
Nearly 6-in-10 (59 percent) Hispanic Catholics prefer life in prison with no chance of parole for people convicted of murder, rather than the death penalty. White Catholics are divided: 48 percent favor life in prison, while 47 percent favor the death penalty. [PRRI Pre-Election American Values Survey, October 2012]
Immigration Reform
More than 6-in-10 (63 percent) American Catholics favor allowing illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to gain legal resident status if they join the military or go to college, the basic tenets of the DREAM Act. [PRRI Race, Class, and Culture Survey, September 2012]
Hispanic Catholics (71 percent) are more likely than white Catholics (59 percent) to favor the basic tenets of the DREAM Act. [PRRI Race, Class, and Culture Survey, September 2012]
Economic Inequality
A majority (55 percent) of American Catholics agree that one of the big problems in this country is that we don’t give everyone an equal chance in life, while nearly 4-in-10 (38 percent) say that it is not really that big a problem if some people have more of a chance in life than others. [PRRI Race, Class, and Culture Survey, September 2012]
Hispanic Catholics (69 percent) are more likely than white Catholics (50 percent) to agree that one of the big problems in this country is that we don’t give everyone an equal chance in life. [PRRI Race, Class, and Culture Survey, September 2012]
More than 6-in-10 (62 percent) younger Catholics (age 18-39) agree that one of the big problems in this country is that we don’t give everyone an equal chance in life. Older Catholics (age 60 and older) are divided: 45 percent say this is a big problem, while 46 percent say it is not really that big a problem if some people have more of a chance in life than others. [PRRI Race, Class, and Culture Survey, September 2012]