This Sunday, Pope John Paul II will be beatified, on a fast track to becoming a saint. According to the latest Economist/YouGov Poll, American Catholics are pleased at this move, but the rest of the country isn’t sure.
By 55% to 14%, American Catholics approve of declaring Pope John Paul II a saint. But the country overall is evenly divided.
John Paul II, who served as Pope for 27 years, is popular with both Catholics and non-Catholics. The same cannot be said for his successor. Catholics have a favorable view of Pope Benedict II, but the country overall is divided.
Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the current and former heads of the Catholic Church?
| Total | Catholics Only | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Very favorable | 8% | 23% |
| Somewhat favorable | 18% | 26% |
Pope Benedict XVI | Somewhat unfavorable | 15% | 16% |
| Very unfavorable | 15% | 6% |
| Not sure | 44% | 29% |
| Very favorable (2003) | 21% | 43% |
| Somewhat favorable | 24% | 24% |
Pope John Paul II | Somewhat unfavorable | 9% | 7% |
| Very unfavorable | 10% | 7% |
| Not sure | 35% | 20% |
College graduates actually dislike the current Pope: just 30% of them have a favorable view of the Pontiff, while 44% are unfavorable.
Full datasets for Economist/YouGov polls can be found here.
Photo source: flickr ( Marion Doss )
