Is Pope Leo XIV liberal or conservative? What Americans think, according to poll
Five days into the papacy of Pope Leo XIV, Americans are fairly split on whether they think he has liberal or conservative political beliefs, a new poll found. Screengrab from Vatican News' video of Pope Leo XIV's May 12 address to media professionals
Originally published May 13, 2025 for the Miami Herald
Americans are fairly split on where they think Pope Leo XIV lands politically, though a plurality believe he is less liberal than his predecessor, according to a new poll.
Pope Leo — formerly known as Cardinal Robert Prevost — took over the highest office in the Catholic Church on May 8 after four rounds of voting in a historic election that made him the first American pope.
In his first public appearances as head of the Holy See, religious experts and the general public have been keeping a close eye on any details — including language in his speeches, social media history and even his name choice — that may hint at how he will lead the 1.4 billion people making up the global Catholic Church.
A bulk of Americans, 43%, said they are not sure of Pope Leo’s political beliefs, while 16% said he is liberal and 12% said he is conservative, a recent Economist/YouGov poll found.
The poll of 1,786 U.S. adults was taken May 9-12 and has a margin of error of 3.3%.
Pointing to language used in his initial speech, experts told McClatchy News it seemed as if Pope Leo was indicating plans to extend Pope Francis’ legacy.
While 29% of Americans felt Francis had liberal political beliefs, the poll shows fewer Americans think the same about Leo. A similar share of U.S. adults think Francis and Leo have conservative political beliefs, 11% compared to 12%, respectively.
Many Americans, 47%, said they think the new pope will have some influence in the United States’ domestic affairs, according to the poll. Twenty-three percent said they didn’t think he would have any influence.
The poll also asked whether it was appropriate for the pope to try and influence domestic issues in the U.S. Forty-one percent said that was inappropriate, and 29% said it was acceptable, per the poll.
Twenty percent of U.S. adults identify as Catholics, according to data from Pew Research Center.
How popular is Pope Leo among Americans?
Forty-seven percent of Americans said Pope Leo was favorable, including 19% who said he was “very” favorable and 28% who said he was “somewhat” liked, according to the poll.
A small share of Americans, 12%, said the pope was unfavorable, and 41% said they didn’t know.
The poll also found that liberals and conservatives had relatively high approval ratings of the new pope, with liberals rating slightly higher at 59% compared with 41% for conservatives. Forty-nine percent of moderates said they favored Pope Leo, per the poll.
