When asked if the Catholic Church should “stick to its traditional teachings, even if it means the church gets smaller” or “be more inclusive, even if it means changing some of its teachings,” a majority of U.S. Catholics polled chose the latter of the contrasting statements (60% vs. 37%), according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. On issues like birth control, women in the priesthood and marriage, most U.S. Catholics express views that differ from church teachings.

Most American Catholics (84%) say couples should be allowed by the church to use birth control. Most respondents (83%) also say couples should be allowed to use in vitro fertilization (IVF) when trying to conceive.

Concerning a woman’s role in the church, 68% of U.S. Catholics surveyed say the church should allow women to become deacons and 59% say the church should ordain them. More than half (63%) of respondents say the church should allow priests to marry.

Pew also found these responses varied widely based on the frequency of Mass attendance. For example, for those who agree Catholics should be allowed to use birth control, there is nearly a 20-percentage point difference between respondents who attend Mass at least weekly (72%) and those who attend Mass less often (90%). The same is true of U.S. Catholics who say women should be allowed to serve as deacons (54% vs. 74%).

“The percentage of U.S. Catholics who say the church should allow Catholics to use birth control is about the same now as it was in early 2024 and somewhat higher than when we asked these questions roughly a decade ago, Patricia Tevington, a Research Associate and Gregory A. Smith, the Senior Associate Director of Research, wrote. “A similar pattern emerges on the question of whether the church should allow Catholics to take Communion even if they are unmarried and living with a partner. On the other hand, the percentages of Catholics who support letting priests get married, letting women become priests, and recognizing the marriages of gay and lesbian couples have dipped slightly since the same questions were last asked in 2024, and are roughly on par with readings from about a decade ago.”

The full report may be found here and the topline results are available here.

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