WASHINGTON — A recent survey released by two Washington institutions shows a significant division of views on immigration between the two biggest racial and ethnic groups in the Catholic Church of the United States.
One “big picture” thing about Catholics revealed in the survey, said Robert P. Jones, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, is that “white (non-Hispanic) Catholics and Latino Catholics are in different universes” on issues such as immigration and other areas of concern in the 2016 election.
They differ on immigration laws, on their level of comfort or discomfort about being around people who speak little or no English, on whether the culture in the United States has changed for the better since the 1950s, said Jones, whose group partnered with the Brookings Institution to conduct the survey of 2,600 participants in May.
“There’s huge divides,” between the two groups of Catholics, Jones said during a June 23 presentation about the findings. A survey from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate says 38 percent of those in the Catholic Church self-identify as Hispanic and 54 percent of the national Catholic population self-identifies as white, non-Hispanic, making them the two largest ethnic and racial groups in the U.S. Catholic Church.
Among their differences, the survey found:
Other findings also show “when it comes to views about immigrants and certain immigration policies, the views of white Catholics are much more closely aligned with white evangelical Protestants than Latino Catholics,” said Dan Cox, PRRI’s research director. “In this case, race and ethnic background matters more than religious affiliation when it comes to determining views on immigration,” he added.
Though the U.S. bishops, the pope, groups of clergy and religious as well as lay groups have repeatedly spoken against the building of a wall between the U.S and Mexico and the U.S. bishops publicly opposed in December the suggestion of a ban on Muslims from entering the U.S., the survey found:
Concerns about immigration ranked behind terrorism, unemployment, crime and the cost of education as critical issues in the survey on the 2016 election, but there’s hardly another issue that seems to generate more varied and complex feelings and views. Karlyn Bowman, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, was one of six panelists discussing findings from the survey. She said Americans’ views have not been historically favorable on the topic of immigration.
“I’ve never seen a poll in which Americans favored increasing immigration,” she said.
Another notable finding of the PRRI/Brookings survey indicated that “no religious group expresses more apprehension about terrorism than Hispanic Catholics.” The study found that 70 percent, or 7 in 10 of Hispanic Catholics, “say they feel at least somewhat worried about terrorism affecting them or their family,” compared to 54 percent of white Catholics who said the same.
The survey, in English and Spanish, was conducted before the June 12 attack on the gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., which is being investigated as a hate crime and an act of terrorism.
Please read our Comments Policy before posting.
Article comments powered by DisqusClergy blast Texas lawsuit targeting migrant ministry
U.S. bishop hails government’s refugee plan for 2024
Mass and holy hour mark start of Respect Life Month
'What's going to happen?': 'Dreamers' in legal limbo
Voluntarios de Pax Christi comprueban realidad de la frontera
Studio 3:16 offers new approach to teaching religion
After three decades, NLR principal plans to retire
CHS athlete overcomes odds to reach collegiate goal
John Calipari: UA basketball coach and devout Catholic
'Cabrini' film tells story of saint with great faith
St. Joseph a model of solidarity with immigrants
Two gifts after Jesus’ death: Virgin Mary and Eucharist
Why we have an altar, and not just a communion table
Pope: Wars should be resolved through nonviolence
Living relationship with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist