TruthBook Religious News Blog

A new Harris Poll finds that large majorities of the U.S. adult public support each of 12 different healthcare policies, programs and practices, including some which are highly controversial. However, people who consider themselves "very religious" or born-again Christians and, particularly, those born-again Christians who describe themselves as Evangelicals, have very different attitudes on some of them.

In total, the survey measured attitudes to the following 12 issues, listed in order of their overall popularity (i.e. the percentage of all adults who strongly or somewhat favor them).

   1. Medicare (health insurance for the elderly and disabled). Fully 96
      percent of adults support Medicare, including 92 percent or more of 
      all religious categories.
   2. Birth control/contraception is supported by 93 percent of all adults,
      including 90 percent of Catholics and 88 percent of born-again
      Christians, the "very religious" and Evangelicals.
   3. Condom use to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases is
      supported by 92 percent of adults, including 93 percent of Catholics,
      82 percent of born-again Christians, 83 percent of the "very
      religious" and 81 percent of Evangelicals.
   4. Medicaid (health insurance for people with very low incomes) is
      supported by 91 percent of all adults, including 88 percent of all
      religious categories.
   5. Sex education in high schools is supported by 87 percent of the
      public, but only by 76 percent of born-again Christians, 77 percent of
      the "very religious" and 72 percent of Evangelicals.
   6. Funding of international HIV prevention and treatment programs is
      supported by 87 percent of the public, including not less than 82
      percent of all religious categories.
   7. Universal health insurance is favored by 75 percent of all adults,
      including 63 percent or more of all religious groups.
   8. Embryonic stem cell research is favored by 70 percent of all adults,
      including 70 percent of Catholics.  However, it is supported by only
      45 percent of born-again Christians, 38 percent of Evangelicals and 51
      percent of the "very religious."
   9. Funding of international birth control programs is supported by 70
      percent of the public, including 66 percent of Catholics, but only 53
      percent of born-again Christians and 48 percent of Evangelicals.
  10. Withdrawal of life support systems/food for those in a vegetative
      state is supported by 68 percent of the public, but by only 47 percent
      of born-again Christians and 45 percent of Evangelicals.
  11. Abortion rights (which were not defined) are supported by 63 percent
      of the public, including 56 percent of Catholics, but by only 30
      percent of born-again Christians, 39 percent of the "very religious"
      and 28 percent of Evangelicals.
  12. Abstinence from sex before marriage is supported by 63 percent of the
      public, but by fully 85 percent of born-again Christians, 85 percent
      of the "very religious" and 91 percent of Evangelicals.

One very interesting finding is that the attitudes of Catholics are generally very similar to those of all adults and, on some issues, very unlike the official position of the Pope and the Church. For example, overwhelming majorities of Catholics favor contraception (90%), condom use to prevent HIV and STD infections (93%), the funding of international birth control programs (66%), embryonic stem cell research (70%) and the withdrawal of life support for those in a vegetative state (68%). A majority (56%) also supports abortion rights.

On the other hand, born-again Christians, adults who think of themselves as "very religious" and Evangelicals are much less supportive of all of these programs and policies, with Evangelicals being the least likely to support them. For example, only 28 percent of Evangelicals support abortion rights (compared to 63% of all adults) and only 38 percent of Evangelicals support embryonic stem cell research (compared to 70% of all adults).


                                 TABLE 1
   Support And Opposition to 12 Health Programs, Policies or Practices
       "Please indicate whether you support or oppose the policy."

  Base: All Adults


                % Strongly/                   Strongly/
                  Somewhat          Somewhat  Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Not
                  Favor    Strongly           Oppose   Oppose   Oppose  Sure
                 (NET)     Favor    Favor     (NET)

  Medicare
  (health
   insurance
   for the
   elderly
   and
   disabled)    %   96      80       16         3        2         1       2
  Use of birth
   control/
  contraception %   93      79       14         4        2         2       3
  Condom use to
   prevent HIV
   and other
   STDs         %   92      82       10         5        3         2       3
  Medicaid
  (health
   insurance for
   people with
   low incomes) %   91      63       28         7        5         2       2
  Sex education
   in high
   school       %   87      68       19        10        5         4       3
  Funding of
   international
   HIV prevention
   and treatment
   programs     %   87      60       27        10        7         3       3
  Universal health
   insurance    %   75      52       23         7        8         9       9
  Embryonic
   stem cell
   research     %   70      48       22        19        8        11      11
  Funding of
   international
   birth control
   programs     %   70      45       24        21       11        10       9
  Withdrawal of
   life support
   systems/food
   for those in
   vegetative
   state        %   68      40       28        17        8         8      15
  Abortion
   rights       %   63      46       17        32       11        21       5
  Abstinence
   from sex
   before
   marriage     %   63      32       31        27       18         9      10

   Note: Percentages may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.


                                 TABLE 2
Those in Favor of 12 Health Programs, Policies or Practices - By Religion
       "Please indicate whether you support or oppose the policy."
                Percent saying strongly or somewhat favor

  Base: All Adults

                   Total  Catholic Episcopalian/ Lutheran Methodist Non-
                                   Anglican                         Denomi-
                                                                    national
               (n=2,242) (n=403)    (n=53)      (n=115)  (n=147)    (n=174)
                    %        %         %            %        %           %
  Abortion
   rights          63       56        83           67       75          50
  Use of birth
   control/
   contraception   93       90       100           95       95          92
  Abstinence
   from sex
   before
   marriage        63       66        44           72       65          86
  Condom use
   to prevent
   HIV and
   other STDs      92       93        99           96       94          84
  Funding of
   international
   HIV prevention
   and
   treatment
   programs        87       86        86           82       90          84
  Funding of
   international
   birth control
   programs        70       66        79           75       75          61
  Universal health
   insurance       75       76        65           71       66          68
  Sex education
   in high school  87       89        92           94       91          83
  Embryonic stem
   cell research   70       70        88           70       77          59
  Withdrawal of
   life support
   systems/food
   for those in
   vegetative
   state           68       68        80           75       77          58
  Medicare (health
   insurance for
   the elderly
   and disabled)   96       98        93           96       97          96
  Medicaid (health
   insurance for
    people with
    low incomes)   91       92        95           91       91          91


                      Total  Presbyterian  Baptist  Other  Jewish  Agnostic/
                                                   Christian       Atheist
                   (n=2,242)    (n=85)     (n=221) (n=215) (n=75)  (n=199)
                         %         %          %       %       %        %
  Abortion rights       63        72         53      49      83       90
  Use of birth control/
   contraception        93        99         94      89      97       99
  Abstinence from sex
   before marriage      63        63         75      76      44       31
  Condom use to prevent
   HIV and other STDs   92        99         91      84      98       99
  Funding of
   international HIV
   prevention and
   treatment programs   87        89         87      85      92       95
  Funding of
   international birth
   control programs     70        81         62      62      79       87
  Universal health
   insurance            75        80         76      68      68       89
  Sex education in
   high school          87        90         83      81      94       94
  Embryonic stem cell
   research             70        82         62      58      95       96
  Withdrawal of life
   support systems/
   food for those in
   vegetative state     68        80         64      61      75       86
  Medicare (health
   insurance for the
   elderly and
   disabled)            96        97         97      96      92       97
  Medicaid (health
   insurance for
   people with
   low incomes)         91        88         92      88      90       91


                                 TABLE 3
 Those in Favor of 12 HEALTH Programs Policies or Practices - by Religion
       "Please indicate whether you support or oppose the policy."
                Percent saying strongly or somewhat favor

  Base: All Adults

                                        Born-                    Evangelical
                                        again         Very       Born-again
                          Total        Christians    Religious  Christians
                        (n=2,242)      (n=413)        (n=448)     (n=202)
                               %            %            %            %
  Abortion rights             63           30           39           28
  Use of birth control/
   contraception              93           88           88           88
  Abstinence from sex
   before marriage            63           85           85           91
  Condom use to prevent
   HIV and other STDs         92           82           83           81
  Funding of international
   HIV prevention and
   treatment programs         87           82           86           82
  Funding of international
   birth control programs     70           53           57           48
  Universal health insurance  75           63           71           66
  Sex education in
   high school                87           76           77           72
  Embryonic stem cell
   research                   70           45           51           38
  Withdrawal of life
   support systems/food
   for those in vegetative
   state                      68           47           56           45
  Medicare (health insurance
   for the elderly
   and disabled)              96           96           96           98
  Medicaid (health insurance
   for people with
   low incomes)               91           89           92           90

About Harris Interactive(R)

Harris Interactive Inc. (www.harrisinteractive.com) is the 13th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world, perhaps best known for The Harris Poll(R) and for pioneering and engineering Internet-based research methods. The Rochester, New York-based global research company blends premier strategic consulting with innovative and efficient methods of investigation, analysis and application, conducting proprietary and public research globally to help clients achieve clear, material and enduring results.

Blending science and art, Harris Interactive combines its intellectual capital and one of the world's largest online panels of respondents, with premier Internet survey technology and sophisticated research methods to market leadership through its US, Europe (www.harrisinteractive.com/europe)
and Asia offices, its wholly owned subsidiary, Novatris in Paris (www.novatris.com),
and through an independent global network of affiliate market research
companies.

Source: Harris Interactive Inc.