LOS ANGELES (AP) — While campaigning for governor of California, Xavier Becerra reflected on how his Catholic upbringing influences his politics. “The sanctity of life is something that is really ingrained in you,” the Democrat and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services said earlier this year.
He then explained his reasons for supporting abortion rights, which confused some. Becerra illustrates how the deep roots of Catholicism often go hand in hand with California’s progressive reputation. This complexity is a snapshot of a larger reality: American Catholics are, in many ways, a politically mixed group.
“There is no Catholic vote,” said David Gibson, director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University. White evangelicals for Republicans or black Protestants for Democrats are politically more reliable religious groups, he said.
With Becerra’s victory this week, California has elected five consecutive Catholic governors — a remarkable streak that speaks to the enduring influence of Catholicism. “Catholicism is part of the cultural fabric of California, just as Puritan Protestantism is part of the New England regions,” Gibson said.
Catholic voters – particularly Latinos – helped elect Becerra, according to The AP Voter Polla survey of approximately 100,000 midterm voters. He became the state’s first elected Latino governor.
Starting with Gray Davis, who took office in 1999, four of those five governors have also been Democrats. Some spoke more clearly about their faith than others – notably Jerry Brown, who was a seminarian in the 1950s.
California has more Catholics than any other U.S. state. A 2024 Pew Research Center poll found that 25% of California adults identify as Catholic, representing nearly half of the state’s Christians.
But beyond the numbers, Catholicism has been embedded in the fabric of the state for centuries.
California Catholics are politically diverse
From economically progressive strands of Catholic social teaching and explicit rejection of the death penalty to official teachings against abortion and in vitro fertilization, Catholic theology rarely fits neatly into political categories, which helps explain unpredictable voting patterns.
Take Governor Gavin Newsomwhose strong support for abortion rights is at odds with Catholic leaders. Again his announcement This week, his plan to convert more than 500 death sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole was celebrated by the California Catholic Conference, the public policy organization representing the California Church.
“I am taking this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned murder is inconsistent with California values, undermines the foundation of our legal system, and diminishes each of us,” Newsom said in a public letter.
Some Church leaders have reversed Trump administration policies, such as San Bernardino Bishop Alberto Rojas, who last year formally apologized parishioners of their weekly obligation to attend Mass following immigration detentions on parish properties in the diocese.
Others have taken high-profile conservative positions, such as San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, who in 2022 banned U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic, from receiving communion because of her support for abortion rights.
About 2 in 10 voters in California’s gubernatorial race were Catholic, and they overwhelmingly voted for Becerra, according to The AP Voter Poll. About 6 in 10 Catholic voters supported Becerra, while about 4 in 10 voted for his Republican opponent Steve Hilton.
About 7 in 10 Latino Catholics voted for Becerra, while white Catholics were split between Becerra and Hilton.
These complex political patterns are also reflected nationally. Catholics were split evenly between Democrats and Republicans.
This is a slight change from 2024, when just over half of American Catholics voted for Trump, according to AP VoteCast.
California Catholics are ethnically diverse
Catholics in California are also ethnically diverse. Many are immigrants from Latin America and the Philippines. Resident Tracy Creighton’s ancestry dates back to missions founded more than two centuries ago by Spanish Franciscan priests.
As a mother of teenagers, Creighton sought to convey the importance of service to others and respect for nature — values that she says are both deeply Catholic and Californian.
“I feel like over the last few years we’ve lost our way in terms of serving others,” she said, citing St. Francis of Assisi as a role model. “That’s why I remain Catholic.”
Catholic faith, history, and culture contribute to many Californians’ understanding of themselves, such as their relationship with the 21 missions founded between 1769 and 1823.
“Clearly, the legacy of missions is mixed and has problematic implications,” said Cecilia González-Andrieu, a theology professor at Loyola Marymount University. “For Latino theologians like me, it’s necessary that we be able to hold that in tension, the fact that within ourselves we have this mixture of cultures and blood.”
The leaders are counts more and more with this tension and how it should be communicated to young people. The history of the missions is included in the state’s fourth-grade public curriculum, which is often accompanied by a field trip to one.
A law signed by Newsom took effect last year and requires schools to teach in social studies classes about how missionaries mistreated Native Americans and to share native perspectives.
But mistreatment is not the only heavy legacy of the missionaries who arrived at the end of the 18th century.
“The mission system spread disease and was ill-equipped to deal with the immunological effects of Old World peoples and their immunities,” said William Deverell, a historian at the University of Southern California. “This is a major institutional moment that is leading to a horrific demographic decline in the indigenous population. »
California Catholicism goes far beyond faith
Despite their complex heritage, the missions are landmarks. Many still operate as Catholic parishes.
The missions also helped influence the Spanish Colonial Revival style of homes that became signatures of California architecture. “The reason I love California so much is its architecture and its beauty. And I think Catholicism plays a big part in that,” Creighton said.
Creighton says it’s hard to overstate the importance of Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, near San Diego, where she lives.
“Everyone takes their throwback photos, their Christmas photos. It’s just ingrained in us,” she said, adding that even non-Catholics often take photos there. “This is a huge milestone for who we are here.”
Beyond architecture, Catholic influence is omnipresent in many California homes.
Between the crucifixes and votive candles on display, Brian Murillo’s home in Fresno bears witness to his Catholic upbringing. The state employee describes himself as a non-practicing Catholic who stopped going to Mass because he felt the leadership of the American Church was too aligned with Republican politics.
But Murillo, whose father is from Mexico, still recites a Hail Mary or an Our Father every time he leaves the house.
“Sometimes I clean the house and say a prayer or I’m alone in the car,” he said. “It’s an integral part of my childhood, even to this day.”
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Associated Press religion coverage receives AP support collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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