Catholics Are More Liberal Than You Might Think

[applegrove]

Catholics Are More Liberal Than You Might Think

July 31, 2025 at 11:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 89 Comments

https://politicalwire.com/2025/07/31/catholics-are-more-liberal-than-you-might-think/

The Economist: “Some 56% of those surveyed agreed that the church should support the rights of refugees and migrants, even if that conflicts with national border laws. Views on migrants varied widely across countries: Catholics in Europe, where immigration is a contentious political issue, were markedly less sympathetic than those in Africa, Asia and South America. A majority of Catholics surveyed (55%) supported the church being more welcoming to gay and transgender people. Kenya was the only country where opposition outweighed support (around a fifth of respondents globally were ambivalent on the issue). Just over half (51%) of those surveyed supported women becoming ordained deacons; and 46% were in favour of allowing priests to marry. In each case, because a large share of Catholics were undecided, opponents were in the minority.”

“Catholics from Argentina, Francis’s birthplace, were consistently among the most open to change. The late pope’s views may have had greater influence there. Many Catholics in the relatively liberal country—Argentina was the first in Latin America to legalise same-sex marriage, in 2010—are also not particularly devout. At least two-thirds of Argentinians identify as Catholic, but only around 20% of the population attends mass regularly.”

[walkingman]

1. That is definitely not the case here in rural Central Texas. They are some of the most

clannish and conservative people I have ever met in my life. Maybe it is just a reflection of being in Texas?

[applegrove]

2. 60 years of Republican indoctrination since Kennedy. IMHO

[DenaliDemocrat]

8. Evangelicals are worse

Everywhere

[Permanut]

3. 54% of Catholics voted for Trump..

[hunter]

4. In the U.S.A. they split along the same lines as the general population does...

... but overall are more likely to be liberal.

Republican "anti-woke" Catholics are horrible in every way.

[Tommy Carcetti]

5. I definitely feel heard.

Being a practicing Catholic and coming from a family of left-leaning but very much practicing Catholics.

I think another wrinkle is Catholic converts versus "Cradle Catholics" (Catholics raised up from birth who are still practicing to some degree or another.)

The converts tend to be more conservative and staunchly traditionalist (think JD Vance, for example), whereas the Cradle Catholics not quite as much (think Joe Biden, for example.)

[walkingman]

6. In Texas I've noticed that the Catholic Hispanic population seems much more liberal

than the Evangelicals with one BIG exception - they are definitely more anti-abortion and it is a huge factor in Texas politics because the Hispanic population is just about the same as the White population. Although they tend to vote more Democratic in general there are many that view abortion as one issue that keeps them from voting for a Dem vs GOP - they just don't vote.

[maxsolomon]

7. I was raised in Liberal Guitar-Mass Catholicism.

Then both my parents voted for Reagan in 1980. Guitar-Mass Catholicism is long gone.

The RCC in Cincinnati is very Conservative and rabidly Anti-Choice.