{"id":8450,"date":"2022-05-23T14:00:09","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T19:00:09","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-04-23T23:55:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T03:55:57","slug":"like-americans-overall-catholics-vary-in-their-abortion-views-with-regular-mass-attenders-most-opposed","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/05\/23\/like-americans-overall-catholics-vary-in-their-abortion-views-with-regular-mass-attenders-most-opposed\/","title":{"rendered":"Like Americans overall, Catholics vary in their abortion views, with regular Mass attenders most opposed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Catholic Church in the United States has long been one of the foremost opponents of legal abortion, teaching that human life is sacred \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usccb.org\/news\/2022\/statement-usccb-president-and-bishop-chairmen-advance-supreme-courts-ruling-dobbs-v\">from conception to natural death<\/a>\u201d and that unborn children have a \u201cright to life.\u201d But for U.S. Catholics, the abortion issue isn\u2019t so clear-cut. Like the American public as a whole, most Catholics think abortion should be illegal in some cases but legal in others, according to a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2022\/05\/06\/americas-abortion-quandary\/\">Pew Research Center survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And just as U.S. adults overall are divided along <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2022\/05\/06\/americas-abortion-quandary\/#CHAPTER-White-evangelicals-are-most-opposed-to-abortion\">religious<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2022\/05\/06\/americas-abortion-quandary\/#CHAPTER-Partisan-differences-in-views-of-abortion-\">political lines<\/a> in their attitudes about abortion, so are Catholic adults. Catholics who attend Mass regularly are among the country\u2019s strongest opponents of legal abortion, and they are also more likely than those who attend less frequently to believe that life begins at conception and that a fetus has rights. Meanwhile, Catholic Republicans are far more conservative on a range of abortion questions than are Catholic Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"border-width:1px;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);--block-gap: inherit\" class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible has-background has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-border-color has-ui-beige-dark-border-color\" id=\"how-we-did-this\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/collapsible&quot;}\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;collapsibleId&quot;:&quot;how-we-did-this&quot;,&quot;isOpen&quot;:false}\" data-wp-class--is-open=\"context.isOpen\" data-wp-init--scroll-into-view=\"callbacks.onInitScrollIntoView\"><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__title\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.onClick\"><div>How we did this<\/div><button class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__icon\"><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"context.isOpen\"><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-plus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-plus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!context.isOpen\" hidden><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-minus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-minus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><\/button><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__content\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pew Research Center conducted this study to examine attitudes among Catholics about abortion in the United States. For this analysis, we surveyed 10,441 U.S. adults, including 2,224 Catholics, from March 7-13, 2022. Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses, which gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/our-methods\/u-s-surveys\/the-american-trends-panel\/\">ATP\u2019s methodology<\/a>.<br><br>Here are the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2022\/05\/PF_05.06.22_abortion.views_.topline.pdf\">questions used for this analysis<\/a>, along with responses, its <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2022\/05\/06\/methodology-49\/\">methodology<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/W104Catholics_Abortion-DetailedTables_MOE.pdf\">detailed tables<\/a> on U.S. Catholics\u2019 views of abortion (including sample sizes\/margins of error).<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overall, about three-quarters of U.S. Catholics (76%) say abortion should be illegal in some cases but legal in others. Just one-in-ten say abortion should be illegal in all cases, with no exceptions, while a similar share (13%) take the position that abortion should be legal in all cases, without exceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About seven-in-ten Catholics say abortion should be legal if the pregnant woman\u2019s life or health is threatened (69%), and two-thirds say it should be legal if the pregnancy is the result of rape (66%). At the same time, roughly two-thirds of Catholics say how long a woman has been pregnant should be a factor in determining abortion\u2019s legality (63%), with larger shares opposing abortions in the late stages of a pregnancy than in the early stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-11633\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/05\/23\/like-americans-overall-catholics-vary-in-their-abortion-views-with-regular-mass-attenders-most-opposed\/ft_2022-05-20_catholicsandabortion_01-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"d8e4e9\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d8e4e9;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" height=\"756\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_01.png?w=640\" alt=\"A bar chart showing that most U.S. Catholics who attend Mass regularly oppose legal abortion, while most other Catholics say it should be legal in most or all cases\" class=\"wp-image-11633 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_01.png 1280w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_01.png?resize=254,300 254w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_01.png?resize=768,907 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_01.png?resize=867,1024 867w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_01.png?resize=343,405 343w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_01.png?resize=200,236 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_01.png?resize=260,307 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_01.png?resize=310,366 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_01.png?resize=420,496 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_01.png?resize=640,756 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_01.png?resize=740,874 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_01.png?resize=160,189 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_01.png?resize=320,378 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among Catholics who attend Mass at least once a week, about two-thirds (68%) say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, and about half or fewer support exceptions that would make abortion legal in the case of rape (43%) or threats to the life or health of the mother (49%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most Mass attenders also believe life begins at conception. Seven-in-ten Catholics who go to church at least once a week say the statement \u201cHuman life begins at conception, so a fetus is a person with rights\u201d describes their own views very or extremely well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On these core questions about abortion\u2019s legality and the start of human life, Mass-attending Catholics are about as conservative as <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2022\/05\/06\/americas-abortion-quandary\/#religion-breaks\">White evangelical Protestants<\/a>, who stand out among U.S. religious groups for their strong opposition to abortion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In stark contrast, most Catholics who do not attend Mass weekly (65%) say abortion should be <em>legal<\/em> in all or most cases, including three-quarters who say it should be legal in cases of rape or threats to the well-being of the pregnant woman. Only around a third of Catholics who attend Mass less than once a week (35%) say they believe life begins at conception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The survey also asked respondents whether abortion should be legal at particular stages of a pregnancy, including at 24 weeks, which is about when a healthy fetus could survive on its own with medical attention; 14 weeks, which is roughly the end of the first trimester; and six weeks, about when cardiac activity (sometimes called a fetal heartbeat) is detectable and before many women know they are pregnant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among Catholics who attend Mass at least once a week, two-thirds say abortion should be illegal at 24 weeks of pregnancy, while just 5% say it should be legal. Roughly one-in-ten regular Mass attenders (12%) say \u201cit depends\u201d when asked whether abortion should be illegal or legal at 24 weeks, while the remainder say the length of a pregnancy shouldn\u2019t be a factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About half of Catholics who attend Mass at least weekly say abortion should be illegal at 14 weeks of pregnancy, while 14% say it should be legal at that stage and 17% say \u201cit depends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Catholics who attend Mass less than once a week are far less likely to say abortion should be illegal at each stage of pregnancy asked about in the survey. For instance, 26% of these Catholics say abortion should be illegal at 14 weeks, while 33% say it should be legal at this stage and 28% say \u201cit depends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-11637\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/05\/23\/like-americans-overall-catholics-vary-in-their-abortion-views-with-regular-mass-attenders-most-opposed\/ft_2022-05-20_catholicsandabortion_02-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e3e7ea\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e3e7ea;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" height=\"469\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_02.png?w=640\" alt=\"A bar chart showing that two-thirds of U.S. Catholics who attend Mass at least weekly say abortion should be illegal at 24 weeks of pregnancy\" class=\"wp-image-11637 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_02.png 1280w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_02.png?resize=300,220 300w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_02.png?resize=768,563 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_02.png?resize=1024,750 1024w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_02.png?resize=553,405 553w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_02.png?resize=200,147 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_02.png?resize=260,191 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_02.png?resize=310,227 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_02.png?resize=420,308 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_02.png?resize=640,469 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_02.png?resize=740,542 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_02.png?resize=160,117 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_02.png?resize=320,235 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Political affiliation, too, is tied to large differences in opinion on these questions. A majority of Catholic Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say abortion should be illegal in most or all cases (60%) and that the statement \u201clife begins at conception\u201d describes their view extremely well or very well (59%). By contrast, most Catholic Democrats and Democratic leaners say abortion should be legal in most or all cases (73%), and only three-in-ten believe that life begins at conception. However, majorities of Catholics on both sides of the political divide say abortion should be legal in the cases of rape or danger to the pregnant woman\u2019s life or health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-11640\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/05\/23\/like-americans-overall-catholics-vary-in-their-abortion-views-with-regular-mass-attenders-most-opposed\/ft_2022-05-20_catholicsandabortion_03-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"d7e3e8\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d7e3e8;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" height=\"760\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_03.png?w=640\" alt=\"A bar chart showing that about six-in-ten Catholic Republicans say 'life begins at conception' describes their view extremely or very well; half as many Catholic Democrats say the same\" class=\"wp-image-11640 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_03.png 1280w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_03.png?resize=253,300 253w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_03.png?resize=768,912 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_03.png?resize=862,1024 862w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_03.png?resize=341,405 341w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_03.png?resize=200,238 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_03.png?resize=260,309 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_03.png?resize=310,368 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_03.png?resize=420,499 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_03.png?resize=640,760 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_03.png?resize=740,879 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_03.png?resize=160,190 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_03.png?resize=320,380 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On many of the questions about abortion\u2019s legality, the views of Catholic Republicans closely resemble the views of other Republicans. For instance, 62% of Catholic Republicans say abortion should be against the law at 24 weeks into a pregnancy, while 7% say it should be legal and 16% say \u201cit depends.\u201d Among non-Catholic Republicans, 60% say abortion should be illegal at 24 weeks, 8% say it should be legal, and 14% say \u201cit depends.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Catholic Democrats, by contrast, tend to be somewhat more opposed to abortion than other Democrats. For example, the share of Catholic Democrats who say abortion should be against the law at 24 weeks of pregnancy is 11 percentage points higher than the share of non-Catholic Democrats who say this (38% vs. 27%). And the share of Catholic Democrats who say abortion should be legal at 24 weeks is 13 points lower than the share of non-Catholic Democrats who say this (24% vs. 37%). Still, in their opinions about abortion, Catholic Democrats tend to more closely resemble other Democrats than they do Catholic Republicans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-11646\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/05\/23\/like-americans-overall-catholics-vary-in-their-abortion-views-with-regular-mass-attenders-most-opposed\/ft_2022-05-20_catholicsandabortion_04a-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e2e7e9\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e2e7e9;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" height=\"490\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_04a.png?w=640\" alt=\"A bar chart showing that Catholic Democrats are somewhat more opposed to legal abortion at each stage of pregnancy than Democrats overall, but more closely resemble other Democrats than other Catholics\" class=\"wp-image-11646 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_04a.png 1280w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_04a.png?resize=300,230 300w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_04a.png?resize=768,588 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_04a.png?resize=1024,784 1024w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_04a.png?resize=529,405 529w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_04a.png?resize=200,153 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_04a.png?resize=260,199 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_04a.png?resize=310,237 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_04a.png?resize=420,322 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_04a.png?resize=640,490 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_04a.png?resize=740,567 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_04a.png?resize=160,123 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/ft_2022.05.20_catholicsandabortion_04a.png?resize=320,245 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Catholic women are a bit more likely than Catholic men to say abortion should be legal in all or most cases (60% vs. 53%), and they are also more likely to say the decision about whether to have an abortion should belong solely to the pregnant woman. More than half of Catholic women (56%) say this view describes them extremely well or very well, compared with 41% of Catholic men. In general, however, the differences between Catholic men and women are relatively modest. The survey also finds only minimal differences in the abortion views of White Catholics and Hispanic Catholics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Note: Here are the <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2022\/05\/PF_05.06.22_abortion.views_.topline.pdf\"><em>questions used for this analysis<\/em><\/a><em>, along with responses, its <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2022\/05\/06\/methodology-49\/\"><em>methodology<\/em><\/a><em>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/W104Catholics_Abortion-DetailedTables_MOE.pdf\">detailed tables<\/a> on U.S. Catholics\u2019 views of abortion (including sample sizes\/margins of error).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About three-quarters of U.S. Catholics (76%) say abortion should be illegal in some cases but legal in others.  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