Argentina, Catholics in a Nosedive. United States, Catholics Responsive. Two Surveys

Sandro Magister takes a look at two recent surveys, one in Francis's homeland and one in the US. Interesting figures in both of them.

From Settimo Cielo

By Sandro Magister

Among the recent sociological surveys on religions in the world, two are of particular interest. The first registers the sharp setback for Catholicism in Argentina. The second measures the views of Catholics in the United States regarding abortion, just as the supreme court is preparing to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in all states, with the consequence that it will be the individual states that will legislate on the matter.

IN ARGENTINA

In Argentina, those “without religion” have come to be 22 percent of the population, when half a century ago they were practically absent. While over the same timespan Catholics have dropped from 90 to 52 percent.

Reporting these data is Sergio Rubin, vaticanista and biographer of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, citing Marita Carballo, founder of the Argentine research center “Voices!”

Argentines who say they trust the Catholic Church are also in freefall: from 52 percent in 2017 to 31 percent today. The same goes for Pope Francis’s approval rating, which fell from 62 to 52 percent over the same period.

Conversely, among those who still call themselves Christian there are rising numbers of “evangelicals,” charismatics, and Pentecostals, who in Argentina today make up 12 percent of the population.

In all this Argentina reflects a trend at work for years in the whole of Latin America, where already in 2018 there were at least seven states in which Catholics had fallen below half the population, led by Uruguay, historically the most irreligious, followed by other Central American states.

But today, even in a giant like Brazil Catholics have fallen to less than half. In the state of Rio de Janeiro they are 46 percent, with the lowest troughs, below one third, in the favelas.

Pope Francis dedicated an entire synod to the Amazon in 2019, and a few days ago he appointed as cardinal the bishop of the largest city in the region, Manaus. But while the Church is fighting for the preservation of nature, the number of Catholics is in continual decline. Today they are only 46 percent of the 34 million inhabitants of the Amazon basin.

In Chile as well Catholics have recently dropped below the threshold of half the population. And Argentina, as has been seen, is very close to this, and in addition has been orphaned by its countryman pope, who has never set foot there again since he was elected, nor intends to do so in the future.

IN THE UNITED STATES

As for the views of Catholics in the United States on the subject of abortion, this is set out in a recent survey by the Pew Research Center in Washington:

> Like Americans overall, Catholics vary in their abortion views, with regular Mass attenders most opposed

At the two opposite extremes are those Catholics, 13 percent, who want abortion to be legal in all circumstances, without exception, and those others, 10 percent, who instead want an outright ban, while in between there are those who want it to be either legal or illegal “in most cases.”

But the proportions change significantly among those who go to Mass every Sunday. Those who want all abortions to be illegal rise to 24 percent and those who want it illegal in most cases to 44 percent. These add up to more than two thirds of regular practitioners, against a minuscule 4 percent who want it always legal and 26 percent who want it legal in most cases.

In cases in which pregnancy threatens the mother’s life or health, 69 percent of Catholics opt for legal abortion and 13 percent oppose it, but among those who go to Mass every Sunday those who are for legal abortion drop to 49 percent, while those against it rise to 29 percent.

Those saying they agree with the statement that “human life begins at conception, so a fetus is a person with rights,” are 44% of Catholics in general but 70% of those who go to Mass every Sunday.

In the United States, the opposition of practicing Catholics to the legalization of abortion, always or in most cases, is very close to the record figure, 77 percent, of white “evangelical” Protestants.

While instead views differ quite a bit among Catholics according to political affiliation, regardless of Mass attendance.

60 percent of Catholics who lean Republican are for making abortion illegal always or in most cases, and 59 percent for the statement that “life begins at conception.”

While 73 percent of Catholics who lean Democrat are for keeping abortion legal, always or in most cases, and just 30 percent for the statement that “life begins at conception.”

The views on abortion of Catholics who lean Republican are very similar to those of non-Catholic Republicans.

In the Democrat camp, however, in some cases Catholic and non-Catholic views differ a bit. For example, 38 percent of Democrat Catholics do not admit abortion beyond 24 weeks of pregnancy, while non-Catholic Democrats who do not admit it are 27 percent. And vice versa, Democrat Catholics who admit abortion even beyond 24 weeks are 24 percent, while non-Catholic Democrats who admit it are 37 percent.

In reporting these data, the Pew Research Center leaves out the comparison with previous surveys. But one fact is certain: still today in the United States, Catholics are much more sensitive and responsive to the seriousness of the abortion issue than are the Catholics of Europe.