Catholic priests in the U.S. are increasingly identifying as conservative, both politically and theologically, but are valuing adherence to Catholic teaching over toeing the party line politically. The Catholic Project at the Catholic University of America conducted a survey in 2022, The National Study of Catholic Priests, which found that younger priests are increasingly identifying as both politically and theologically “conservative,” while those identifying as “liberal” or “progressive” are a dying breed. However, a follow-up study published last month discovered wide-ranging nuances among priests’ self-definitions, revealing a stronger devotion to the Catholic Church’s teachings than to secular standards of either “conservative” or “liberal.”
Another question asked of American priests may reveal where self-described conservative priests differ with the Trump administration.
Among priests ordained prior to 1975, the majority (61 percent) identified as either “liberal” or “very liberal” politically, with 25 percent identifying as “moderate,” 13 percent as “conservative,” and only one percent as “very conservative.” Among priests ordained between 1975 and 1979, fewer identified as “conservative,” but more (34 percent) identified as “moderate,” with only 53 percent identifying as either “liberal” or “very liberal.” Priests ordained between 1980 and 1989 evinced a greater trend towards political conservatism, with only five percent identifying as “very liberal,” compared to 17 percent in each of the previous cohorts, with nearly a quarter (24 percent) identifying as either “conservative” or “very conservative.”
The trend of self-identification as politically conservative continued amongst successive generations of priests, with 40 percent of those ordained between 1990 and 1999 identifying as either “conservative” or “very conservative,” and barely a quarter (26 percent) identifying as either “liberal” or “very liberal.” Among priests ordained between 2000 and 2009, only nine percent identified as politically “liberal” and only three percent as “very liberal,” while only 11 percent of priests ordained post-2010 identified as “liberal” and a mere one percent as “very liberal.”
“Because political conservatism can mean many different things, and does not necessarily imply support for the party or administration in power, we asked priests: ‘To what extent are you concerned about the policies of the current political administration in the U.S.?’” the Catholic Project’s study noted. Predictably, 94 percent of priests who self-identify as “very liberal” politically reported that they are “extremely concerned” about President Donald Trump’s and his administration’s policies, with similar results (83 percent “extremely concerned,” 15 percent “very concerned,” and one percent “moderately concerned”) among priests who identify as “somewhat liberal.”
Results are more mixed among priests who identify as politically “moderate,” but even among those who identify as “conservative” or “very conservative,” some express concern over Trump administration policies, although to a much lesser extent than their more progressive brethren. Among priests who identify as “conservative,” less than a quarter (21 percent) reported being “extremely” or “very concerned,” nearly a third (31 percent) said that they were “moderately concerned,” 31 percent reported being only “slightly concerned,” and 17 percent were “not at all concerned,” while two thirds (66 percent) of priests who identify as “very conservative” were either only “slightly concerned” 31 percent) or “not at all concerned” (35 percent) over Trump administration policies.
“If attitudes toward the current administration were driven primarily by political loyalty, one would expect the attitudes of more liberal and more conservative priests to present as mirror images of one another. We see a different result,” the Catholic Project observed. “The nuanced responses indicate that there is concern among priests of all political leanings, and that these concerns appear to be driven by something other than mere partisan preference.”
Another question asked of American priests may reveal where self-described conservative priests differ with the Trump administration. Nearly 90 percent of priests agreed that pro-life issues should be a priority for the Catholic Church in America, with 81 percent placing immigration and refugee assistance, 79 percent placing “social justice,” and 68 percent placing “racism” in the “priority” category. However, no nuance was mined in these categories. For example, do priests who rated immigration as a top concern mean that the Church in the U.S. should be supporting liberal immigration policies, or do they mean that the Church should speak more clearly on the issue, proclaiming the age-old Catholic teachings on national sovereignty and the immigrant’s duties and responsibilities to his host nation?
Overall, the Catholic Project’s report is heartening, revealing that American priests are trending further and further to the Right politically and more and more towards orthodoxy theologically. And while it is also heartening to see that priests are placing loyalty to the teachings of the Church above adherence to political parties and ideologies, the report also demonstrates, first, that Catholics within the Trump administration (Vice President J.D. Vance, for example) could do a better job of clarifying the morality of the administration’s policies and projects and, second, that seminary professors and bishops must do a better job of clarifying the Catholic Church’s moral teachings, which rarely conflict outright with the Trump administration’s positions on issues like immigration.
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