In recent weeks I’ve written a fair bit about the Republican presidential primary contests — and I will continue to do so in the weeks ahead. On the other side of the political aisle, Catholics’ perceptions of President Barack Obama seem to be changing.

Back in 2008, when Obama took on John McCain, he won the Catholic vote quite handily — at a higher percentage than the general population, in fact. That despite some very outspoken comments from prominent Catholics about some of Obama’s views, especially around the sanctity of life issues.

Now, three-and-a-half years on, some of the Catholics that helped deliver the White House to Obama are not so sure they’ll be voting to give him another four years.

US Catholic, a liberal/progressive Catholic publication in the — you guessed it — United States, conducted a survey of its readers to find out their views on President Obama. You can read the findings here, but here’s a little snippet.

But after weighing all the pros and cons of Obama’s first term in office, one critical question remains: Will Catholics vote for him in 2012?

If U.S. Catholic readers are any indication, the answer is yes—but by a slim margin. Without knowing who his opponent will be, 51 percent of respondents say they plan to vote for Obama in the next election, while 11 percent remain undecided. Some express the feeling, however, that Obama may simply be the best choice in a weak field of candidates.

This survey would have been carried out before a recent decision by the Obama administration that has really peeved of the Catholic hierarchy, though, and even some of the Catholic leaders who have been supportive of Obama for the most part.

It comes down to the provision of Obamacare, the president’s universal health care policy that has been his major achievement in his three years in office. On the surface, making sure everybody can get health care is a good thing. But there has been a fair amount of opposition to the plan from the beginning — partly because it’s seen by some as Government interfering where it ought not, partly because some people are concerned about how broadly the provision will be applied, including to areas like abortion and contraception.

When the bill was working its way through Congress, Catholic bishops had serious reservation relating to that latter point. The Catholic Health Association, though, supported the plan. In fact, the head of the CHA was one of 21 Obama allies who received a pen from the president — the pens had been used to sign the legislation.

Now, though, the bishops and the CHA are united in fierce opposition to the latest aspect of the healthcare legislation. Last year, it was mooted that all insurance plans — which many employers offers — had to cover contraception and sterilisation procedures, with a very narrow religious exemption clause. The Catholic Church and its agencies strongly opposed that measure, saying it would violate their conscience to have to pay for employees’ contraception and sterilisation. They called for the religious exemption to be broadened.

The administration’s response? Thanks, but no thanks. And now the Catholic Church is coming out swinging, and it’s allowing the Republican nominees to take their own swipes at President Obama.

How serious is it? A pro-Obama liberal Democrat who writes for the left-leaning National Catholic Reporter has said the President will never receive his vote again because of the decision. Read this piece from Michael Sean Winters and you’ll see just how big an issue this might become in the election this November.

Of course, there’s time for an about-face from the administration, but it’s hard to anticipate when they were given all the doomsday scenarios and still went ahead anyway.

This won’t be the last we hear about this…