Catholics in the US have shifted dramatically towards the GOP in recent years, favoring them over President Biden in a move that should favor former President Donald Trump.
Pew Research released a report on Apr. 30, exploring support for presidential candidates sorted by religious affiliation. The poll found that 55% of Catholics lean towards supporting former President Trump in a head-to-head against Biden, Fox News reported.
Only 43% of Catholics support Biden, the survey found, a significant shift from 2020, when Trump held a narrow lead of 50% to 49%.
Biden is currently leading among Hispanic Catholics with a narrow margin of 49% to 47%. However, this close competition marks a significant shift towards the right for this demographic. In 2020, a similar poll conducted by Pew Research showed that Hispanic Catholics overwhelmingly favored Biden over Trump with a staggering split of 67% to 26%.
According to an April survey, approximately 60% of Protestants expressed support for Trump, while about 38% leaned toward Biden.
A large majority of atheists, agnostics, and religiously unaffiliated voters supported Biden, with approximately 69% indicating they would back the Democratic incumbent, while only 28% voiced their support for Trump.
Biden has emphasized his identity as a Catholic in his presidential campaigns, despite his rejection of certain non-negotiable church teachings like supporting abortion and at an advanced state.
“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,” Fox News added.
“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,'” the outlet noted further.