New Poll from EWTN News and RealClear Opinion Research Finds Likely Catholic Voters Support 15-Week Abortion Ban, Public Funding for Pregnancy Centers

Poll Finds More Than Half of Catholic Voters List Inflation or Economy/Jobs as Top Issue

EWTN News and RealClear Opinion Research have partnered to conduct a deep-dive poll on Catholic voters’ attitudes and trends ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. 

In this poll, the second of three in a series, Catholics weigh in about their views regarding President Biden, abortion, the economy, and education. Respondents expressed deep concerns over rising inflation and expressed support for both a 15-week abortion ban and public funding for pregnancy centers across the country. 

A clear majority (75.6%) of Catholic voters oppose allowing biological boys to compete on biological girls’ sports teams, with strong opposition among Hispanic (77.3%) and Black (80.3) Catholics. Additionally, 73.7% Catholic voters expressed concern over a “covid deficit” impacting their child’s intellectual development.

A majority of Catholic voters disapprove of President Biden’s job performance. Additionally, a majority of Catholic voters believe neither President Trump nor President Biden should pursue a second term in 2024.

Some key highlights from the poll:

President Biden

• If the 2022 elections for Congress were held today, 48.7% of Catholic voters would support a Republican candidate, while 44.7% would support a Democrat candidate.
• 58.4% of Catholic voters believe President Joe Biden should not pursue a second term in 2024, while 22.2% believe he should pursue a second term.
• 63.3% of Catholic voters believe former President Donald Trump should not run for President in 2024, while 26.7% believe he should pursue a second term.
• 51.8% of Catholic voters disapprove or strongly disapprove of President Biden’s job performance, while 46.2% approve or strongly approve.

Abortion/Culture 

• 73.4% of Catholic voters support limiting abortion to 15 weeks or less. Only 13.4% of Catholic voters support abortion up to the moment of birth.
• 67.4% of Catholic voters support public funding for Pregnancy Resource Centers, where pregnant women can seek help with alternatives to abortion. 18.3% opposed public funding for the centers.
• 60.7% of Catholic voters believe health care workers should not be obligated to engage in procedures that they object to based on moral or religious grounds, while 25.3% believe they should be forced to perform such procedures.
• 34.2% of Catholic voters considered inflation to be “the most important issue facing the nation.” 19.7% consider the economy their top issue. Abortion and immigration each received 10.1%.

Education

• 73.7% of Catholic voters were concerned about a "COVID deficit" in schoolchildren which has caused them to lose significant intellectual and social development. 16.4% were not concerned.
• 75.6% of Catholic voters oppose or strongly oppose allowing biological boys to compete against biological girls on school sports teams. 14.6% of Catholic voters support or strongly support the policy.
• 59.9% of Catholic voters oppose introducing Critical Race Theory (CRT) into classrooms, compared to 29% of Catholic voters who support it.
• 64.4% of Catholic voters support or strongly support allowing parents of K-12 students to help determine school curricula. 31.2% of Catholic voters are opposed.
• 67.6% of Catholic voters supported or strongly supported school choice and 26.2% opposed.

Economy

• 41.1% of Catholic voters blamed “President Biden and his administration” for the 9.1% price increase of consumer goods. 31.7% blamed a “Global slowdown due to COVID-19” while 9.4% blamed the “Russian invasion of Ukraine.” 15.5% responded “all of the above.”
• 41.9% of Catholic voters said their personal finances were affected “a great deal” by inflation and rising prices. 39% of Catholic voters said their finances were affected “some.”
• 45.1% of Catholic voters said they were “not at all” confident, that the Inflation Reduction Act will reduce inflation. 9.1% expressed “not much” confidence. 23% expressed “some” confidence, while 14% expressed “a great deal of confidence.

Catholic Faith:

• 53.3% of Catholic voters believe supporting "transgender ideology" conflicts with Catholic teaching, while 30.3% believe it doesn’t.
• 15% of Catholic voters “accept all the Church's teachings,” while 34.5% of Catholics accept “most” of the Church's teachings. 30.4% consider themselves Catholic but “do not accept some of the key teachings of the Church.”
• 84.4% of Catholic voters believe in Heaven, while 3% of Catholics do not.
• 50.3% of Catholic voters believe in the Real Presence of the Eucharist.

“This new EWTN News/RealClear Opinion Research poll finds that Catholics – like many Americans – are concerned about and have felt the impact of high inflation and a majority (fully or in part) blame President Biden and his administration’s policies. Overcoming the ‘Covid deficit” in the classroom and the increasing use of divisive ideologies in K-12 classroom instruction continue to concern Catholics,” said Matthew Bunson, Executive Editor of EWTN News.

“As we approach the midterm elections and the campaign intensifies, President Biden could continue to face headwinds particularly as he stands in stark opposition to a clear majority of Catholics on religious liberty/conscience rights, transgender ideology, and on even the most basic protections for the unborn,” said Bunson. “Catholics are historically a swing vote but those who attend Mass at least weekly are unquestionably at odds with this administration even as support from Hispanic Catholics is eroding for the president and his party. These voters could very well decide who controls the House and Senate.”

METHODOLOGY  

From September 12 to September 19, 2022, RealClear Opinion Research conducted a poll of Catholics who are registered and say they are likely to vote in the midterm elections in the United States. The sample size of likely Catholic voters was N=1,581 with a credibility interval of +/-2.5%.

Link to poll results: www.ewtnnews.com/poll

EWTN News is a service of EWTN Global Catholic Network. In its 42nd year, EWTN is the largest religious media network in the world. EWTN’s 11 TV channels are broadcast in multiple languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week to over 400 million television households in more than 150 countries and territories. EWTN platforms also include radio services transmitted through SIRIUS/XM, iHeart Radio, and over 600 domestic and international AM & FM radio affiliates; a worldwide shortwave radio service; one of the largest Catholic websites in the U.S.; electronic and print news services, including Catholic News Agency, “The National Catholic Register” newspaper, and several global news wire services; as well as EWTN Publishing, its book publishing division.

About RealClear Opinion Research: 

RealClear Opinion Research is a service from RealClearPolitics that conducts original research on social trends shaping America and the world. For more information, visit http://www.realclearmediagroup.com/realclearopinionresearch 

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