What impact has Pope Francis had on American Catholics?

The Public Religion Research Institute has posted analysis of data on Catholics from their new study, The Pope Francis Effect, using data they collected from the American Values Atlas, a tool they launched in 2014 to provide current data on people of faith in America.

They note that Catholicism has held steady in popularity for four decades, although the ethnic and and racial composition has changed radically; 22% of Americans are Catholic, and the ratio of white to Hispanic is 2 to 1, having dramatically shifted from the 90s, when it was roughly 10 to 1.

Pope Francis is seen as favorable by Catholics, non-Catholics, and former Catholics alike, but his popularity does not seem to spill over to the Church for non-Catholics. While Catholics have become more positive toward their church, non-catholics generally mixed view has held steady.

The article links to their full survey, and highlights more data from the American Values Atlas.

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