For decades, some political analysts have sought to depict Hispanic Americans as “socially conservative” — and indeed many of them are.
But a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that a solid majority of this diverse population — whether they’re Catholic, Protestant or religiously unaffiliated — believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases.
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It’s a finding of interest as debate over abortion access is in the spotlight ahead of the U.S. election on Nov. 5.
The Democrat’s presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, strongly supports abortion rights. Her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, boasts about appointments he made to the Supreme Court that led to repeal of the nationwide right to abortion.
Overall, the new AP-NORC poll, conducted Sept. 12-16, found that Hispanic Protestants and Catholics — despite their theological differences — are remarkably similar in their demographic makeup and views on major issues, including abortion and immigration.
Post-Roe v. Wade views on abortion
According to the poll, about 4 in 10 U.S. Hispanics identify as Catholic, about one-third as Protestant or “other Christian,” and about one-quarter as religiously unaffiliated. About half of the Protestants identified as evangelical or born-again, as did about 10% of the Catholics.
Around 6 in 10 Hispanic Protestants and about two-thirds of Hispanic Catholics say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. A similar share think Congress should pass a law guaranteeing access to legal abortions nationwide.
That’s similar to other major religious groups in the U.S. except for white evangelical Protestants; only about one-quarter of them say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Overall, a majority of U.S. Catholics from multiple demographics support abortion-rights, even though the Catholic hierarchy describes opposition to abortion as its preeminent priority.
Ali Valenzuela, an American University professor of government who studies Latino politics, said many Hispanics used to be anti-abortion, primarily because of their religiosity.
He attributed the shift in viewpoints to “the changed political reality” after the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, which put abortion access at risk in many states.
About 4 in 10 Hispanic Protestant and Catholic registered voters said abortion policy is among the most important issues for their vote in November. They were more likely to say the economy, health care, crime and immigration are among the most important issues.
Trump vs. Harris
Regarding the presidential race, Hispanics were largely divided in their assessments of Harris and Trump. Harris was viewed somewhat or very favorably by about 4 in 10 Hispanic Protestants and about half of Hispanic Catholics, and Trump was viewed favorable by about 4 in 10 Hispanic Protestants and Catholics.
Lorraine Martinez, a 68-year-old Californian, said she was raised Catholic. While she’s not a regular churchgoer now, her upbringing in the faith informs her values to “take care of your neighbor, be kind and not cruel."
She said her 35 years as a schoolteacher inform her priorities this election season: immigration and education.
“To see (migrant) kids come in and they’re flourishing, and the acceptance of the other children for them is phenomenal,” said Martinez, who remembers Vietnamese refugees in her school starting in the 1980s and different groups of immigrants since.
Martinez, who plans to vote for Harris, added she strongly opposes mass deportations and family separations.
She also supports legal access to abortion, viewing reproductive health issues, including IVF treatments, as something women should decide without governmental interference.
Pam Butcher, 54, from Waverly, West Virginia — whose mother’s family came to the U.S. from Mexico — is a Trump supporter who says abortion should be illegal in most cases.
“It’s very important to me; I’m pro-life,” Butcher said. “I mean, if a mother’s life is in danger, then it has to be done in order to save her, and if that’s her choice, possibly rape and incest … but to me, it’s murder.”
Trump, she said, “didn’t outlaw abortion, but instead gave the states back their rights” on a highly contentious issue.
Butcher attends a Protestant church and says her faith is important in her daily life as well as her decision to vote for Trump.
“The country was founded on religious principles,” she said. “I don’t think that religion should be forced on anyone. But I also don’t believe that it should be forced out of everything either.”
Gabriela Maldonaldo, 20, a Catholic from Chicago, also said she’s voting for Trump.
She said she opposes abortion, while adding that sometimes it’s a medical necessity. She believes Republicans will be better able to handle other issues that are important to her, including the economy, crime and immigration.
To Californian Haylee Rader, 21, the top issue this election season is inflation. “It’s hard even to afford a gallon of milk, and gas is really high,” said the community college student, adding that her mother, who’s Latina, has to drive half an hour to work.
On immigration, Rader believes that “just crossing over is wrong,” and that the government needs a better system to legally process those who come seeking safety in the United States.
In the poll, about half of Hispanic Protestant and Catholic registered voters said immigration is one of the most important issues for their vote; only about 1 in 10 in each group said it’s not important.
Roughly 6 in 10 Hispanic Protestants and Catholics said religious groups should provide assistance to immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. That’s in line with the views of Americans overall.
Neither Trump nor Harris has an edge among Latino Catholics on their handling of immigration. Latino Protestants are slightly more likely to say they trust Trump to handle the issue.
Other poll findings:
--Hispanic Protestants and Catholics have similar patterns of church attendance. About 2 in 10 say they attend church once a week or several times a week, about 4 in 10 attend at least once a month, and about 2 in 10 never attend.
--About 7 in 10 Hispanic Catholics say they speak a language other than English at home, compared to about half of Hispanic Protestants.
--About 6 in 10 Hispanic Catholics have a somewhat or very favorable view of Pope Francis, compared to about 3 in 10 Hispanic Protestants. Overall, 4 in 10 Americans view Francis favorably.
The diverse political views of Hispanic Americans is reflected on several fronts in the ongoing election campaign. For example, there are Hispanic American candidates in two of the most closely contested U.S. Senate races.
U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat running in Arizona, is the son of immigrants from Colombia and Mexico. Bernie Moreno, a Republican running in Ohio, emigrated with his family from Colombia when he was a child.
And there are sharp contrasts related to abortion.
Samuel Rodriguez, who heads the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, published an op-ed on Fox News this month saying the Democrats’ full-throated support for abortion access might alienate some Hispanic Americans who are open to restrictions on abortions later in pregnancy.
“The Democratic Party has now shifted dramatically to an ‘abortion on demand’ policy, which includes late-term abortions,” wrote Rodriguez, a pastor in California. “This extreme position deeply unsettles many Latinos, particularly those of faith.”
In New Mexico, meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that construction is getting underway on a state-funded abortion clinic that will serve local residents and people traveling from neighboring states such as Texas and Oklahoma with sweeping bans on abortion.
“This clinic will stand as a testament to our state’s commitment to reproductive freedom,” Lujan Grisham said.
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The poll of 2,028 adults was conducted Sept. 12-16, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.