Governors of this one religion dominate the bully pulpit in ecumenical California |
Pope Leo XIV and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger attend the international climate conference in Albano Laziale, Italy, in 2025. If Xavier Becerra is elected, he will be the state's fifth-consecutive Catholic governor.
Pro tip: If you are ever asked to predict a winner in a California gubernatorial race, be sure to bet on the Catholic.
Xavier Becerra’s rapid rise to one of the top-two spots in this month’s gubernatorial primary was a surprise, but it shouldn’t have been. If, as expected, Becerra wins the governorship in November’s runoff election, he’ll be the state’s fifth consecutive Catholic governor.
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And that is no accident. While California is caricatured as crazy, uber-progressive, even godless, the truth is that we might be America’s most Catholic state.
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California has more Catholic residents than any other U.S. state — about 10 million. By percentage of Catholics among our population, we rank eighth, trailing mostly East Coast states with strong Irish and Italian heritage. And the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is the nation’s most populous Catholic diocese.
Catholicism also bonds together our people, particularly our diverse immigrant groups. Our large populations from Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Central America, Vietnam and the Philippines all have a religious tradition in common.
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