And the religious impact was…
-
- November
- 5
…not all that great.
I just got off a conference call with the Pew Forum’s John Green, the man on the intersection of faith and politics. He spent the night poring through the exit polls.
Let’s just say that the ‘08 race will not be remembered like the ‘04 race, when evangelicals were credited with lifting George Bush on their shoulders and carrying him to victory.
This time around, there were no major religious swings. But most religious groups moved somewhat to the left.
Last time, Bush won Catholics 52% to 47%. This time, Obama took Catholics 54-45.
But McCain held white Catholics 52-47. Obama’s big gains were with Hispanic Catholics and black Catholics—whose votes may not have been driven by the faith factor.
Evangelicals held steady.
In 04, Bush won 78% of the white evangelical vote. This time, Obama pushed hard to make inroads among evangelicals. But he did only 4% better than John Kerry.
Ethnicity appears to have played a bigger role than religion, Green conceded (as a “religion guy,” he’s looking at things through a religion lens).
Black support for the Democrat went from 88% in 04 to 95% in 08. Hispanics went from 53% Dem in 04 to 66% Dem in 08.
Asians went from 56% Dem in 04 to 61% Dem on 08.
Religiously unaffiliated folks, who went 67% for Kerry, went 75% for Obama.
People who attend a house of worship weekly or more went 55% for McCain, down from 61% for Bush in 04.
So most groups, religious and otherwise, with liberal or moderate leanings increased their Democratic support.
And white evangelicals and Catholics—two large traditional groups—moved just a couple of tentative steps to the left.
The ‘08 race was not about religion, it seems.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 at 11:12 am by Gary Stern.
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The world of religion, we don't have to tell you, is vast. The purpose of this blog is for Stern to note, flag and comment on some of the more interesting religious developments on the scene – weighty and quirky, somber and laughable, far away and just down the road. He won't interpret Scripture, take sides in conflicts or judge anyone. But he will take advantage of the journalist's license to observe.
