The Catholic Church has been outspoken in its criticism of the United States (US) and its role in the Iran war. Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope, has gone as far as to accuse President Donald Trump of being one of “a handful of tyrants" ravaging the world with war. Instructive in that comment is the moral parallel the pope draws between the administration in Washington and the regime in Tehran. He has further demanded that the US cease its actions in Iran, even though the result would be to leave the Iranian people under dictatorship and the Tehran regime within reach of a nuclear weapon.

What Americans make of that was tested in a recent poll, the results of which provide a startling insight into American and, by extension, Western society.

The poll, conducted between 17 and 20 April, found that overall, 48% of Americans agree more with the pope’s stance on the Iran war and his criticism of Trump and America, compared to 28% who side with Trump, and 24% who are unsure who is right.

However, that split in favour of the pope was overwhelmingly concentrated among Democrats, with 85% siding with him and just 4% backing Trump.

Independents also lean toward the pope by a wide margin.

Republicans, by contrast, overwhelmingly reject the pope’s position, with just 10% agreeing with his views, compared to 66% who side with Trump and 24% who are unsure.

But it was among religious respondents that the split was most striking in what it reveals about Western society.

Among Catholics, only 42% support the pope’s stance on the war, compared to 31% who side with Trump, and 27% who are unsure. Protestants are even more split, with slightly more backing Trump than the pope.

Among atheists, however, the pope enjoys overwhelming support, even beyond the support he receives from Democrats. Fully 80% of atheists say they support the pope over Trump on the Iran war, with just 10% supporting Trump.

Taken together, the findings point to a striking inversion. The head of the Catholic Church draws, on one of the most important political questions of the day, more than twice as much support from (presumably left-leaning) atheists as he does from practicing Christians, because the politics of the Catholic Church appears to align so closely with their view of the world.