A poll done in early February 2012 by Rasmussen Reports indicated that despite a slight improvement around that time in Obama’s overall performance ratings by the general public, Catholics remained critical, with 59 percent of likely Catholic voters disapproving of his handling of the job.

As of mid-February 2012, the controversy over birth control hadn’t significantly affected Catholics’ views of Obama, according to Gallup Daily tracking.

More than three-quarters of Americans say birth control pills ought to be covered by insurance, according to an NPR/Thompson Reuters poll in 2011.

The Public Religion Research Institute released findings in February 2012 of a survey it conducted about the mandate. The findings include breakdowns for different religious backgrounds and age groups.

A survey in early February 2012 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found the public sharply divided on the contraception coverage mandate, depending upon religious and political affiliation. The findings include a section on Catholic respondents’ views about contraception generally.

The National Conference of State Legislatures posts information about which states have laws requiring insurers to cover birth control and/or exempting employers from coverage requirements.

Kristin E. Heyer is an associate professor in the religious studies department at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif. She co-edited Catholics and Politics: The Dynamic Tension Between Faith & Power.

David Gutterman is an associate professor of politics at Willamette University in Salem, Ore., where he teaches a course on religion and politics. Gutterman co-edited the book Religion, Politics and American Identity: New Directions, New Controversies.

Gleaves Whitney is director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., and co-editor of Religion and the American Presidency.