Along political party lines, roughly half of US Democrats view Pope Leo favorably, along with some 4 in 10 Republicans and independents. At the same time, Republicans appeared to be slightly more cautious than Democrats to express an opinion, with about half saying they didn't have sufficient knowledge to weigh in, a view held by 4 in 10 Democrats.

About two-thirds of American Catholics have a “very” or “somewhat” favorable view of Pope Leo, according to the new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, while about 3 in 10 don’t know enough to have an opinion. Very few Catholics — less than 1 in 10 — view him unfavorably.

Pope Leo’s reviews among the American public are similar to Pope Francis’ at the beginning of his papacy, researchers said.