How Americans view Pope Leo XIV's role in politics
Overview
Adults viewed Pope Leo XIV more favorably than unfavorably, but that favorable baseline did not translate into open-ended support for every form of public political engagement.
Roughly 48% have a favorable opinion of Pope Leo XIV, compared with about 15% who have an unfavorable opinion. At the same time, 70% say it is inappropriate for President Trump to publicly criticize the Pope, and 75% say Pope Leo XIV should not make a vote public if he votes.
Stacked breakdown
47.9% have a favorable opinion of Pope Leo XIV.
Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Pope Leo XIV?
- Very favorable
- 28.1%
- Somewhat favorable
- 19.8%
- Neither favorable nor unfavorable
- 22.4%
- Somewhat unfavorable
- 7.5%
- Very unfavorable
- 7.2%
- No opinion / not familiar enough
- 14.9%
April 2026 Verasight Variety Survey
View source dataFavorable views outnumber unfavorable views
About 47.9% of adults have a favorable opinion of Pope Leo XIV, including 28.1% with a very favorable opinion and 19.8% with a somewhat favorable opinion.
Unfavorable views are much smaller at 14.7%. Another 22.4% are neither favorable nor unfavorable, and 14.9% say they have no opinion or are not familiar enough.
Topline
69.8% say it is inappropriate for President Trump to publicly criticize the Pope.
How appropriate or inappropriate do you think it is for President Trump to publicly criticize the Pope?
- Very inappropriate 52.3%
- Somewhat inappropriate 17.5%
- Somewhat appropriate 11.6%
- Not sure 9.8%
- Very appropriate 8.8%
April 2026 Verasight Variety Survey
View source dataCriticism looks different depending on who is speaking
A 69.8% majority say it is inappropriate for President Trump to publicly criticize the Pope. This includes 52.3% who say it is very inappropriate.
Views are closer when the direction is reversed. About 49.8% say it is appropriate for the Pope to publicly criticize the U.S. president's policies, while 39.3% say it is inappropriate.
Topline
74.8% say Pope Leo XIV should not make his vote public if he votes.
If Pope Leo XIV does vote, should he make his vote public?
- No 74.8%
- Yes 25.2%
April 2026 Verasight Variety Survey
View source dataAdults distinguish voting from public disclosure
After being told Pope Leo XIV is an American citizen, 77.1% say he should cast a vote in U.S. elections.
But voting support does not extend to public disclosure. If Pope Leo XIV votes, 74.8% say he should not make his vote public.
Taken together, the questions point to a distinction between private civic participation and public political signaling.
Methodology
Full methodology- Mode
- Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
- Population
- US adults age 18+
- Field dates
- 2026-04-21 → 2026-04-23
- Base (unweighted)
- 2,000
- Margin of error
- +/- 2.3%
- Module
- April 2026 Verasight Variety Survey
- Sponsor
- Verasight
- Weight variable
- weight
- Weighting targets
- age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status
Sources
[5]- 01Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Pope Leo XIV?47.9% of adults have a favorable opinion of Pope Leo XIV, compared with 14.7% who have an unfavorable opinion.reports.verasight.io/reports/variety10126
- 02How appropriate or inappropriate do you think it is for President Trump to publicly criticize the Pope?69.8% say it is inappropriate for President Trump to publicly criticize the Pope.reports.verasight.io/reports/variety10126
- 03How appropriate or inappropriate do you think it is for the Pope to publicly criticize the U.S. president's policies?49.8% say it is appropriate for the Pope to publicly criticize U.S. presidential policy, while 39.3% say it is inappropriate.reports.verasight.io/reports/variety10126
- 04Do you think he should cast a vote in U.S. elections?After being told Pope Leo XIV is an American citizen, 77.1% say he should cast a vote in U.S. elections.reports.verasight.io/reports/variety10126
- 05If Pope Leo XIV does vote, should he make his vote public?74.8% say that if Pope Leo XIV votes, he should not make his vote public.reports.verasight.io/reports/variety10126
Citation
April 2026 Verasight Variety Survey, fielded April 21-23, 2026, N=2,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 2.3%.