Most Catholics are concerned by anti-Catholic sentiments at protests and vandalism, a Monday poll found.
The poll, conducted by RealClear Opinion Research and the Eternal Word Television Network, found that more than 80% of Catholics are worried about the acts of church vandalism that followed summer protests over racial issues. About 75% of Catholics are also worried by attacks on statues of Christopher Columbus and Father Junipero Serra, as well as calls for the removal of depictions of Jesus as a white man.
The poll, which was chiefly intended to survey what has become one of the most coveted demographics for both the Biden and Trump campaigns, also found that the majority of Catholics rated President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic poorly. Trump lags behind former Vice President Joe Biden by 12 points with Catholics overall.
Trump has a strong base within people who practice the faith consistently, but it remains unclear if it will be large enough to overcome those who find appeal in Biden’s own Catholicism.
“The most observant Roman Catholics still tend to support Donald Trump and the Republican Party, as do large majorities of white evangelical Protestants — and are among the most highly motivated voters,” said RealClearPolitics Washington bureau chief Carl Cannon. “But the question for the GOP is whether there are enough of these voters to make up the difference.”
The poll found that most Catholics feel safe returning to church during the coronavirus pandemic and that a majority of Catholics say that the coronavirus pandemic made them more religious.
The major issues for Catholics in the election are the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, and healthcare, the poll found. Religious freedom, abortion, and the Supreme Court fell in importance as the coronavirus caused more Catholics to reconsider their faith, their families, and their working situations.
John Della Volpe, director of polling for the Harvard University Institute of Politics who oversaw the polling for RCOR, noted in a press call, however, that since the poll was taken before Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, it is likely that abortion, religious liberty, and the Supreme Court will shoot back up as top areas of concern in the coming weeks.
