The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has an interesting demographic chart that compares the various religions, their adherents, and their attitudes toward politics and social issues. Interestingly, these are the majority attitudes among Catholics for specific questions asked by Pew in a poll:
- 33% Democratic, 23% Republican
- 38% Moderate, 36% Conservative
- 51% want bigger government and more services
- 32% believe abortion should be legal in most cases
- 58% believe society should be more accepting of homosexuality
- 49% believe government is too involved in morality
- 60% want more environmental regulation
- 55% believe we should not be too involved in world affairs and focus on issues at home
In contrast, here are the same results for evangelicals:
- 38% Republican, 24% Democrat
- 52% Conservative, 30% Moderate
- 48% want smaller government and less services
- 36% say abortion should be illegal in most cases, 25% say illegal in all cases, and 24% say legal in most cases
- 64% say homosexuality should be discouraged
- 50% want the government to do more to protect morality
- 54% want stricter environmental laws
- 54% want less role worldwide and focus on issues at home
Now, how about black churches?
- 66% Democratic (big surprise!), 12% lean Democratic, 7% Republican
- 36% Moderate, 35% Conservative (as in “not liberal” - very interesting)
- 72% want a bigger government with more services
- 29% believe abortion should be legal in most cases, 23% split between illegal in most cases and legal in all cases
- 46% believe homosexuality should be discouraged
- 48% believe government should do more to protect morality
- 52% want stricter laws on environmental regulation
- 68% say we should focus on issues at home
Very interesting statistics. There are a lot more. When I read these, I draw one conclusion: The Bush Administration is severely out of step with the majority of religious people in the country.
