On the infrequent occasions that churchgoers in the United States hear about the 2016 presidential candidates from the pulpit, it's mostly pro-Hillary Clinton and anti-Donald Trump, according to a Pew Research Center survey released this week.

Only fourteen percent of roughly 1,600 self-proclaimed churchgoers surveyed between June 5 and 7 said they've heard their clergy speak out on a specific 2016 presidential candidate – and the majority of it was for Hillary Clinton.

The churchgoing group that has experienced the most 2016 election-related rhetoric from the pulpit is African-American Protestants, most of whom heard positive things about Clinton and negative things about Trump.

Only Catholics came close to aligning with African-American Protestants in terms of 2016 support and opposition from the pulpit.

Five percent of Catholics surveyed reported hearing priests speaking positively about Clinton, while two percent reported hearing negative things said about her. Meanwhile, less than one percent of Catholics reported hearing positive things about Trump from their priests, while a much larger seven percent said they've heard opposition to the billionaire businessman.

When it came white "mainline" Protestants, things were only slightly different for Clinton and Trump: Less than one percent of those surveyed said they heard good things about Clinton, while two percent said they heard the exact opposite.

For Trump, Pew found only one percent of white "mainline" Protestants heard support for Trump, while two percent heard opposition.

It wasn't until Pew broke down its data on white evangelicals distinctly from Protestants that things started looking better for the GOP candidate, but not by much.

The study found one percent of white evangelicals reported hearing faith leaders speak in support of Clinton, while four percent reported hearing opposition to the former secretary of state.

Two percent of this same group also reported hearing support for Trump, while three percent said they heard negative things preached from the pulpit.

White evangelicals are one of Trump's most supportive voting blocs.

It's important to note: Compared to African-American Protestants, far fewer Catholics, white evangelicals and white "mainline" Protestant churchgoers have heard their faith leaders say anything from the pulpit about specific the 2016 candidates.

There's a good reason why churches in America talk very little about presidential candidates.

Congress passed a measure in 1954 barring clergy members from officially endorsing or opposing political candidates. Church leaders can discuss political issues, but it's a dangerous tightrope to walk, and it could put religious institutions in the IRS' crosshairs.

"This is the first time we've asked these specific questions in this way," Jessica Hamar Martínez, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center, told the New York Times.

"We found that many people are hearing at least a little bit about politics from their clergy and religious leaders in their places of worship," she said. "But at the same time, it's a much smaller share who are hearing clergy say something specifically about a presidential candidate."

The survey had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points for the total 4,602 adults surveyed, and a margin of sampling error of 3.3 percentage points for the estimated 1,600 self-proclaimed frequent churchgoers.

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This report has been updated.