Most U.S. Catholics view Pope Leo favorably; many think Trump has been too critical of him

A baseball fan takes a photo with a mural of Pope Leo XIV before a White Sox game at Chicago’s Rate Field on May 25, 2025. (Ben Hsu/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) About eight-in-ten U.S. Catholics (78%) have a favorable view of Pope Leo XIV, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. That’s down slightly from summer 2025, when 84% of U.S. Catholics expressed a favorable opinion of the American-born pope. The share of Catholics who have a positive view of Leo today is similar to the share who had a favorable view of his predecessor, Pope Francis, during the last years of Francis’ pontificate. About 8 in 10 U.S. Catholics view Pope Leo XIV favorably % of U.S. Catholics expressing a favorable view of recent popes Note: Estimates from February 2020 and later come from American Trends Panel surveys conducted mainly online. Estimates from January 2020 and earlier come from random-digit-dial telephone surveys. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted May 26-June 1, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER About 8 in 10 U.S. Catholics view Pope Leo XIV favorably % of U.S. Catholics expressing a favorable view of recent popes Very favorableMostly favorableNET favorableMay 1987484391St. John Paul IIMay 1990534093Jun 1996494493Jul 2005175067Benedict XVIAug 2007314374Mar 2008363874Apr 2008493483Feb 2013324174Mar 2013434184FrancisSep 2013374279Feb 2014513485Feb 2015573390Jun 2015523486Oct 2015622081Jan 2017474087Jan 2018453984Sep 2018304272Jan 2020354277Feb 2020324982Mar 2021315282Sep 2021344983Feb 2024264975Feb 2025235578Aug 2025374784Leo XIVJun 2026324678 Note: Estimates from February 2020 and later come from American Trends Panel surveys conducted mainly online. Estimates from January 2020 and earlier come from random-digit-dial telephone surveys. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted May 26-June 1, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER About this research This Pew Research Center analysis explores U.S. Catholics’ views of Pope Leo XIV and how Leo and U.S. President Donald Trump approach each other. Why did we do this? Pew Research Center conducts high-quality research to inform the public, journalists and leaders. Studying U.S. Catholics’ views of the pope is a key part of the Center’s long-standing research. Learn more about Pew Research Center and our religion research. How did we do this? This analysis includes findings from a survey of 9,750 U.S. adults who are part of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), including 1,848 Catholics. The survey was conducted May 26-June 1, 2026. It has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points for results based on the full sample of Catholic respondents. Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses and the survey methodology. The survey was conducted from May 26 to June 1, in the wake of public tension between Leo and President Donald Trump over the conflict in Iran and other matters. In April, Leo spoke out against war and blamed it on unnamed leaders having a “delusion of omnipotence.” Trump criticized Leo on social media, saying the pope was “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” When asked about Pope Leo’s approach to the Trump administration, U.S. Catholics are split. While 19% say Leo has been too critical of the Trump administration, 16% say he hasn’t been critical enough. Another 35% say Leo is striking the right balance, and 30% say they are not sure, have no opinion or have never heard of Leo. About half of U.S. Catholics say Donald Trump has been too critical of Pope Leo Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted May 26-June 1, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER About half of U.S. Catholics say Donald Trump has been too critical of Pope Leo % of U.S. Catholics who say Pope Leo XIV has been …Too critical of Trump administrationNot critical enough of Trump administrationStriking the right balanceNot sure/No answer/Never heard of Pope Leo19%16%35%30%% of U.S. Catholics who say Donald Trump has been …Too critical of Pope Leo XIVNot critical enough of Pope Leo XIVStriking the right balanceNot sure/No answer/Never heard of Pope Leo51%4%14%31% Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted May 26-June 1, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER By contrast, when asked about Trump’s approach to Pope Leo, far more Catholics say Trump has been too critical of Leo (51%) than say he hasn’t been critical enough (4%) or is striking the right balance (14%). Most Catholics, regardless of religiousness or demographics, view Pope Leo favorably Many U.S. Catholics have a positive view of Pope Leo, including those who regularly go to Mass and those who seldom or never do. Among those who attend Mass at least weekly, 85% view Leo favorably. That compares with 79% of Catholics who go to Mass once or twice a month or a few times a year, and 73% of Catholics who rarely or never go. Large majorities of both White and Hispanic Catholics and both Catholic men and women also view Leo favorably. The survey did not have enough Black or Asian Catholics to report their views separately. Views of Pope Leo among U.S. Catholics % of U.S. Catholics who say their view of Pope Leo XIV is … Note: The survey did not have enough Black or Asian Catholics to report their views separately. White Catholics include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted May 26-June 1, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Views of Pope Leo among U.S. Catholics % of U.S. Catholics who say their view of Pope Leo XIV is … FavorableUnfavorableNever heard of Pope LeoNo answerGroupAll U.S. Catholics78%12%9%1%1Attend Mass at least weekly85%11%4%<1%2Attend monthly/yearly79%11%9%1%2Attend seldom/never73%14%12%1%2White80%15%4%1%3Hispanic75%9%15%2%3Men78%16%5%1%4Women78%9%11%1%4 Note: The survey did not have enough Black or Asian Catholics to report their views separately. White Catholics include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted May 26-June 1, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Differences between Catholic Republicans and Democrats More Catholic Democrats than Republicans view Pope Leo favorably % of U.S. Catholics who have a __ view of Pope Leo XIV Note: Those who did not answer are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted May 26-June 1, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER More Catholic Democrats than Republicans view Pope Leo favorably % of U.S. Catholics who have a __ view of Pope Leo XIV Rep/lean Rep favorableRep/lean Rep unfavorableDem/lean Dem favorableDem/lean Dem unfavorable08/202584%6%89%2%06/202672%22%84%5% Note: Those who did not answer are not shown. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted May 26-June 1, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Most Catholics in both partisan coalitions have positive views of Pope Leo. But Catholic Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party express somewhat more favorable views of Leo than Catholic Republicans and Republican leaners do. We found a similar pattern during the latter years of Francis’ pontificate. (In recent years, Catholics have been relatively evenly divided between the two parties. In the new survey, 51% of Catholic respondents identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, while 45% identify with or lean toward the GOP.) The new survey also shows that far more Catholic Democrats say Trump has been too critical of Pope Leo than say Leo has been too critical of Trump (70% vs. 3%). Catholic Republicans are more divided. About a third (32%) say Trump has been too critical of Pope Leo. And 39% say Leo has been too critical of Trump. Catholic Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say Pope Leo XIV has been too critical of the Trump administration Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted May 26-June 1, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Catholic Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say Pope Leo XIV has been too critical of the Trump administration Among Catholics who are Democrats or lean Democratic, % who say …Trump has been too critical of LeoTrump hasn’t been critical enough of LeoTrump has been striking the right balanceNot sure/No answer/Never heard of Pope Leo702226Among Catholics who are Democrats or lean Democratic, % who say …Leo has been too critical of Trump administrationLeo hasn’t been critical enough of Trump administrationLeo has been striking the right balanceNot sure/No answer/Never heard of Pope Leo3264427Among Catholics who are Republican or lean Republican, % who say …Trump has been too critical of LeoTrump hasn’t been critical enough of LeoTrump has been striking the right balanceNot sure/No answer/Never heard of Pope Leo3262834Among Catholics who are Republican or lean Republican, % who say …Leo has been too critical of Trump administrationLeo hasn’t been critical enough of Trump administrationLeo has been striking the right balanceNot sure / No answer / Never heard of Pope Leo3952728 Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted May 26-June 1, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER We can also combine people’s answers to these questions to gauge their views of both Leo and Trump. The balance of opinion among Catholic Democrats is fairly one-sided: 68% say Trump has been too critical of Leo but that Leo hasn’t been overly critical of Trump. Catholic Republicans are again more divided: 28% say Leo has been too critical of Trump but Trump hasn’t been too critical of Leo. 21% say Trump has been too critical of Leo but Leo hasn’t been too critical of Trump. 11% say both Trump and Leo have been too critical of the other. 40% say neither Trump nor Leo has been too critical of the other or did not answer the questions. Most Catholic Democrats say Trump has been too critical of Pope Leo XIV but Leo hasn’t been too critical of Trump % of U.S. Catholics who say … Note: One question asked if Donald Trump has been “too critical” of Pope Leo XIV, has “not been critical enough” or has been “striking the right balance.” The other asked if Leo has been “too critical” of the Trump administration, has “not been critical enough” or has been “striking the right balance.” The “Neither” shares include everyone who didn’t answer either question with “too critical,” including those who were not asked the questions because they’ve never heard of Pope Leo. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted May 26-June 1, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Most Catholic Democrats say Trump has been too critical of Pope Leo XIV but Leo hasn’t been too critical of Trump % of U.S. Catholics who say … Trump has been too critical of Pope LeoPope Leo has been too critical of TrumpBoth have been too critical of each otherNeither has been too critical of the otherRep/lean Rep21%28%11%40%Dem/lean Dem68%1%2%29% Note: One question asked if Donald Trump has been “too critical” of Pope Leo XIV, has “not been critical enough” or has been “striking the right balance.” The other asked if Leo has been “too critical” of the Trump administration, has “not been critical enough” or has been “striking the right balance.” The “Neither” shares include everyone who didn’t answer either question with “too critical,” including those who were not asked the questions because they’ve never heard of Pope Leo. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted May 26-June 1, 2026. PEW RESEARCH CENTER Related: Catholics in Latin America generally have positive views of Pope Leo Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses and the survey methodology. Gregory A. Smith is a senior associate director of research at Pew Research Center.