Nearly eight in 10 Filipino Catholics hold a favorable opinion of Pope Leo XIV, according to a new Pew Research Center survey that offers one of the first public snapshots of how the pontiff is viewed in the world’s third-largest Catholic nation.
The Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey found that 79% of Catholic Filipino adults viewed the pope favorably. Of those, 43% said they had a “very favorable” opinion, while 36% described their view as “somewhat favorable.” Nine percent viewed him unfavorably, while 12% either had never heard of the pope, declined to answer, or did not express an opinion.
Among all Filipino adults, 72% expressed a favorable opinion of Pope Leo, while 13% viewed him unfavorably. The remaining 15% said they had never heard of him, declined to answer, or did not express an opinion.
The survey found lower favorability among Protestants. Fifty-one percent expressed a favorable opinion of the pope, while 28% viewed him unfavorably. Another 21% said they had never heard of Pope Leo, declined to answer, or did not express an opinion.
The findings come as the Philippines continues to rank among the world’s most religious countries.
“Nearly all Filipino adults are affiliated with a religion, and almost nine-in-ten say religion is very important in their lives,” the Pew report said.
“The shares who believe in God and say they pray every day are among the highest Pew Research Center has found in recent survey work around the world,” it added.
Pew found that 92% of Filipino adults identify as Christian, including 76% who identify as Catholic and 12% as Protestant.
The survey also found that 99% of Filipino adults believe in God, while 79% said they pray every day. Daily prayer was reported by 77% of Catholics and 88% of Protestants.
According to Pew, most Filipino Catholics remain in the faith throughout their lives.
“Most Filipino Catholics are lifelong Catholics,” the report said, “meaning they were raised Catholic and continue to identify that way as adults.”
The Philippines is home to more than 90 million Catholics, making it the world’s third-largest Catholic population after Brazil and Mexico, according to the Vatican’s 2021 Statistical Yearbook of the Church.
The findings are based on Pew Research Center’s Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey, which was conducted among nationally representative samples in 37 countries. The Philippine results were released on June 30.
