Pope Francis is losing support among Americans, according to a new poll.
In the recent Gallup poll, just 59% of Americans said they approve of the pope. That number represents a significant drop from Francis's 76% approval rating in early 2014.
His current rate is similar to when he was first elected in 2013, when 58% of Americans favored his opinion.
Catholics and political conservatives — while considered to be the pope's strongest supporters — are primarily responsible for driving down his overall approval rate. Political conservatives' approval rating saw the steepest drop.Gallup found that 45% of those whom identify as conservative favor the pope, down from 72% just last year. Most conservatives disagree with the pope's messages condemning the idolatry of money, attributing climate change to human activity and focusing on economic inequality, which may explain the stark drop, the pollsters said.
Approval ratings among liberals and moderates are down too — the pope's approval ratings dropped 14% in that demographic. Liberals criticized the pope for failing to embrace female priests and not allowing priests to marry, Gallup says.
While Francis' approval ratings are suffering compared to last year, he still enjoys a higher approval rating than Pope Benedict's, but it's not as high as that of Pope John Paul II.
So far, since elected, Francis has an overall approval rating of 64%, which is 12% higher than Benedict's approval rating of 52%. John Paul II, who served as the pope for almost 27 years, earned the highest approval at 72%.
But Pope Francis can redeem himself — after all, he's only served as the pope for a little more than two years.
His approval rating may increase after his visit to the U.S. in September. Americans favored both John Paul II and Benedict after their trips to the U.S.
Pope Benedict received his highest approval rating — 63% — after his visit in 2008.
The poll was conducted by telephone interviews conducted July 8 through 12, 2015, of over 1,000 adults living in the U.S.
Fuente: mashable.com
