Poll shows pope's visit influenced attitudes toward church, faith

Published: 2008-05-02

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI's U.S. visit impacted public attitudes toward the pope, the church and people's willingness to live their faith more fully, according to a poll commissioned by the Knights of Columbus. The nationwide poll of 1,013 adults was conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., April 22-24, just after the April 15-20 papal visit. Marist conducted a similar poll prior to the pope's visit. Both polls had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. According to the newest poll, 65 percent of Americans have a more positive view of Pope Benedict as a result of what they saw and heard during his six-day visit to the United States and 52 percent have a more positive view of the Catholic Church. The percentage of Americans with a favorable view of Pope Benedict jumped from 58 percent prior to his visit to 71 percent afterward. Similarly, the percentage of those who described the pope positively as a spiritual leader increased from 53 percent to 62 percent.

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