Catholics' support swings for Trump over Biden by significant margin: poll

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DC Archbishop calls Biden ‘cafeteria Catholic' who 'picks and chooses' parts of the faith

Washington, D.C.’s Roman Catholic Archbishop Cardinal Wilton Gregory called the president a 'cafeteria Catholic' for picking and choosing parts of the faith while 'ignoring or even contradicting' other aspects that are more challenging.'

Catholics in the U.S. have swung dramatically against President Biden in recent years, now boasting a significant statistical break towards his GOP challenger.

Pew Research released on Apr. 30 a report exploring support for presidential candidates sorted by religious affiliation.

The poll found that 55% of Catholics support or lean towards supporting former President Donald Trump in a head-to-head against Biden.

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People attend Sunday mass at Saint Patrick's Catholic Cathedral in New York City on Oct. 16, 2022. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)

Conversely, only 43% of Catholics support Biden in the same one-on-one pairing.

The 12% margin of support in favor of Trump marks a significant shift from 2020, when he held an extremely narrow lead — 50% to 49%.

Biden currently leads among Hispanic Catholics with a narrow 49%-47% split, but the close contest marks a major shift rightward for the demographic. In 2020, a similar poll from Pew Research found Hispanic Catholics preferred Biden to Trump with a staggering 67%-26% split.

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President Biden speaks at an event near the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 5, 2023. (Cheney Orr/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Approximately 60% of protestants expressed support for Trump, according to the April survey. Conversely, about 38% said they leaned toward Biden.

Atheists, agnostics, and the religiously unaffiliated broke in favor of Biden by a large margin — approximately 69% said they would back the Democratic incumbent while only 28% voiced support for Trump.

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The congregation at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston follows along to the Lord's Prayer while celebrating Solemn Mass on March 31. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Biden has leaned into his Catholic identity in his presidential campaigns, asserting himself as a devout believer despite blatant disregard for non-negotiable church teachings.

However, Catholic leaders have pushed back on this self-characterization and pointed out his support of policies utterly contrary to the faith, such as pro-choice deregulation and affirmation of gender ideology.

Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., previously called Biden a "cafeteria Catholic" — saying he "picks and chooses dimensions of the faith to highlight while ignoring or even contradicting other parts."