The Pope's Approval Rating

Two thirds (66%) of Canadians and 84% of Catholics approve of Pope John Paul's Performance as a spiritual leader

A much smaller proportion (42% of Canadians, 59% of Catholics) agree with his teachings

Toronto, ON - The results of an Angus Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail survey released today show that two thirds of Canadians approve of Pope John Paul II's performance as a spiritual leader. Among Catholics, the Pope receives 84% approval. However, a much smaller proportion of Canadians (42%) agree with his teachings. Even among Catholics, less than six in ten (59%) agree with his teachings. Canada is predominantly a Christian country. More than three quarters (77%) of Canadians identify themselves with a Christian church.

These are the findings of an Angus Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail poll conducted between March 23rd and March 31st 2000. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,500 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.

Two thirds (66%) of Canadians and 84% of Catholics approve of Pope John Paul II's Performance as a spiritual leader

Two thirds (66%) of Canadians say they approve of Pope John Paul II's performance as a spiritual leader. This includes a quarter (25%) who "strongly approve" and 41% who "moderately approve" of his performance. Among Catholics, the Pope's approval rating is considerably higher. 84% of Catholics say the approve of his performance, including four in ten (40%) who "strongly approve" and a similar number (43%) who "moderately approve" of his performance. This compares with 54% of non-Catholics who approve of his performance.

  • In Quebec, the province with the highest number of Catholics, the pope's approval rating is higher (74%). Catholics within the province of Quebec are even more likely to approve of the Pope's performance (82%) compared with only 48% of non-Catholics in the province.

A much smaller proportion (42% of Canadians, 59% of Catholics) agree with his teachings Although his personal approval is high, less than a majority (42%) of Canadians agree with his teachings. Even among Catholics, less than six in ten (59%) agree with the pronouncements he has made on a number of encyclicals or on topics such as philosophy, abortion, birth control and evangelism.

  • On the issue of teachings, Quebec Catholics (54%) are no more or less likely than Catholics in other parts of the country to agree with the Pope.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Andrew Grenville
Senior Vice President
Angus Reid Group
(416) 324-2007 (office)
(416) 821-1021 (mobile)

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