Many Catholics in the U.S. and Latin America Want the Church to Allow Birth Control and to Let Women Become Priests

A new survey by Pew Research Center asked Catholics in six Latin American countries and the United States how they think the church should handle a variety of matters related to contraception, the priesthood and sexuality.

Most Catholics in all seven countries want the church to allow Catholics to use birth control.

Pope Francis , the first Latin American pope, remains broadly popular among Catholics across the region.

Most Catholics in Latin America and U.S. say Catholic Church should allow Catholics to use birth control, allow women to become priests and allow cohabiting couples to receive Communion .

Catholic opinion in the countries surveyed is more divided on whether the church should let priests marry and whether it should recognize the marriages of same-sex couples.

Most Catholics surveyed say Pope Francis represents a change in the Catholic Church’s direction.

The shares of Latin American Catholics who say the church should allow women to become priests have risen.

Younger Catholics are more likely than others to say church should take these steps.

In the U.S. , however, attitudes on this question among Catholics are in the same ballpark as they were a decade ago .