If she's pandering to Catholics, yeah; she should know how to do it properly. It's an easy hand-movement, like jacking someone off at a public performance with children around...
I grew up protestant-ish, we stopped going to church in the early 2000s. I've been to a few Catholic masses since then, it's like going to an exercise class. Sit down, stand up, kneel, stand up, sit down.... I was watching everyone around me to know what to do haha at least you get a little snack and wine. I learned the sign of the cross from Video games though, up, down, left, right, a,b,a,b, Amen.
I've never been Catholic and I stopped going to our Lutheran Church when I was nine, but I can still do the sign of the cross naturally without even thinking about it. And no, we did not do the sign of the cross in my Lutheran church. It's just such a common thing you see in American society.
It’s just such a common thing you see in American society.
I can't say I have the same experience as you. I almost never see it. And I live in a town with a bunch of Catholic churches, a Catholic university with attached congregation of nuns and a monastery.
I honestly can't tell you if I've ever seen someone do it around here.
I mostly see it in movies and TV, but I see it in person as well. I saw it in person a lot more when I lived in other places in the US than where I do now, however.