TruthBook Religious News Blog

Amanda Shimko
Issue date: 11/29/07

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A September report released by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life states that candidates who are viewed by the public as not highly religious seem to top the newest Gallup Polls for both the Democratic and Republican Parties.

The nationwide survey, based on telephone interviews from 3,002 adults in August, rated people's perceptions of candidates and their religiosity.

Romney, a candidate with a Mormon background, was perceived as most religious by participants. Of those polled, 46 percent found Romney to be very religious, while George W. Bush comes in at 43 percent.

The latest Gallup Poll, released Nov. 13, shows Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani as the frontrunners of the Democrat and Republican Parties. Both candidates ranked in the bottom of the religious survey, ranking 16 and 14 percent, respectively.

While these numbers state the percentage of people who found the candidate to be very religious, 63 percent found Giuliani to be somewhat religious, while Clinton received 53 percent in the same category.

Clinton received the biggest percentage of all candidates, both Democrat and Republican, of those who find her not too or not at all religious.

According to the study, voters in the past have said it is important for a president to have strong religious beliefs, and voters tend to express a more favorable view toward those candidates.

But, the report goes on to state, the new study finds that candidates with White House dreams do not have to be seen as very religious in order to be accepted by the public.

James Riddlesperger, professor and chair of the political science department, said religion has always been an important part of American politics.

However, Riddlesperger said, the effect of a candidate's religious preference on the next election outcome remains to be seen.

"We've never had an election this intense this early," Riddlesperger said. "It's too early to tell."

Labels: Amanda Shimko, candidates, election, Gallup Poll, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, politics, religiosity

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Friday, September 07, 2007

God & Man on The Trail

A Pew poll out today draws a fine line: It is important for presidential aspirants to be seen as religious, but most do not get a big bump from being perceived as "very religious." The new data also show how little the public knows about the religious and social views of the top presidential contenders as the campaigns kick into high-gear.

Across the board, if people believe a candidate is "not too" or "not at all" religious, they are not likely to view that candidate favorably. But there are smaller, if any, rating differences between those who say a candidate is "very" vs. "somewhat" religious. For example, 77 percent of those who see Giuliani as very religious rate him favorably, as do 73 percent of those who find him somewhat religious, but that dips substantially to 43 percent among those who find him less religious than that.

And faith matters: In the June Post-Kaiser-Harvard poll, 13 percent of Americans said a "strong religious faith" was an "absolutely essential" candidate quality, another 30 percent called it "very important." And both those numbers spiked higher among Republicans. (Religiosity trailed other candidate qualities in the poll; more, nearly half, mentioned "honest and trustworthy" as absolutely essential than any of the seven items tested.)

But underneath this finding is a broader point - many people have not yet focused on this important aspect of the campaign. In the new Pew poll, large percentages volunteered that they did not know enough to rate the candidates' religiosity. Nearly two-thirds say so about Thompson, more than half about Romney. And more than two in 10 couldn't rate Clinton's level of faith.

There is even lower awareness of Giuliani's position on abortion. Overall, about seven in 10 are not sure about the mayor's position on abortion (historically he has staked out a pro-choice stance). Among Republicans, six in 10 didn't give an answer. And more critically, Republican and GOP-leaning voters who know Giuliani is pro-choice are about as likely to view him favorably as those who are not sure.

The poll also reinforces the notion that Romney's Mormonism may have a negative impact on some voters. Here, a quarter of people say they'd be less likely to vote for a Mormon for president, while only 5 percent say they'd be more likely to support a Mormon.

A Muslim candidate would start with a even greater disadvantage - 45 percent would be less likely to support a Muslim candidate - but the biggest negative among those tested in the Pew poll would be a candidate who does not believe in God. More than six in 10 would be less likely to vote for a non-believer. That is another reason it is crucial for candidates to be seen as religious, even if not deeply so.

--Jon Cohen

Labels: candidates, faith, God, Jon Cohen, Pew Research Center survey, politics, religion

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Friday, June 29, 2007

Poll Says Americans Looking For Religious President

FAIRFIELD, Conn.— A nationwide telephone survey has found that nearly 61 percent of Americans offering an opinion believe that a presidential candidate should be a religious person. Just over 39 percent disagree with the concept.

The telephone survey, released June 14, was conducted by the Sacred Heart University Polling Institute, which polled 958.

In addition, 48.4 percent of the respondents said their own religious faith always or sometimes guides their views toward politics. An equal percent, however, (48.4 percent), said their own faith seldom or never guides their views.

When choosing a presidential candidate, 27.8 percent consider a candidate's specific religious affiliation relevant to their decisions. Another 66 percent do not and 6.3 percent are unsure.

Dr. June-Ann Greeley, assistant professor of Religious Studies and director of SHU's Center for Catholic Thought, Ethics and Culture, said that even though some voters consider a candidate's religious affiliation relevant, Greeley said it could either mean that they would vote for a candidate because of the candidate's religious affiliation or they would not support a candidate on that basis.

Either way, Greeley said, the poll shows that for most Americans, religion is important in selecting a candidate.

"We think we can understand something meaningful about a person, a politician, if we have a sense of his/her religious beliefs because, clearly, religious belief is still esteemed by a majority of Americans," she said.

The poll also shows Democrats emerging as the party of choice in the November 2008 presidential election.

Despite how survey respondents planned to vote themselves, 60.3 percent expect the Democrats to regain the White House while just 14.5 percent believe Republicans would retain the White House. One quarter, 25.2 percent, are undecided.

Labels: Americans, candidates, election, faith, politics, religion, Sacred Heart University

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Monday, June 11, 2007

Where the Candidates Kneel

Where the candidates kneel
Posted by dpulliam

In case you were wondering, the Associated Press reports that presidential aspirants include seven Roman Catholics, three Methodists, three Baptists, one Episcopalian, one Presbyterian, one Mormon and one who is "simply" a Christian.

With religion being an increasingly frequent topic in national politics these days, I’m starting to wonder whether a candidate’s religious affiliation will join party affiliation and locality after the candidate’s name. OK, that is probably not going to be considered by the editors of The Associated Press Stylebook. Do you readers think this survey is atypical of the AP? And are reporters focusing more on candidates’ religion this year than in previous elections?

Fortunately the AP did much more with the story, and in an accompanying article it sorted through some of the issues coming up in the next election:

Lately it seems all the leading presidential candidates are discussing their religious and moral beliefs — even when they would rather not.

Indeed, seven years after George W. Bush won the presidency in part with a direct appeal to conservative religious voters — even saying during a debate that Jesus Christ was his favorite philosopher — the personal faith of candidates for the 2008 election has become a very public part of the presidential campaign.

Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have hired strategists to focus on reaching religious voters. Obama’s campaign holds a weekly conference call with key supporters in early primary and caucus states whose role is to spread the candidate’s message to religious leaders and opinionmakers and report their concerns to the campaign.

There is so much more that could have been done with this story, and maybe AP has plans to look closer at what the candidates believe. There are certainly some compelling religion stories among these candidates beyond the frequent articles on Mitt Romney’s Mormonism and Democratic candidates’ attempts to get religion.

For example, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, a Methodist, is looking for a new church near his new house. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, is a member of St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Cleveland who attends services "not often," according to the AP. And Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., a Catholic, attends services "when his schedule permits."

Tommy Thompson, the former Wisconsin governor (Catholic), Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn. (Catholic), and Romney are the only candidates who said they attend services weekly, regardless of their travel schedules. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., on the other hand, tries to attend Mass daily. When he’s in Kansas, he also attends Topeka Bible Church with his family. As a friend asked, how does he square that theologically?

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s answer that he is a Catholic, but his "personal relationship with God is private and between him and God," is somewhat refreshing. But since when did Giuliani ever keep his faith to himself? Reporters shouldn’t allow candidates to get away with lame answers that are inconsistent with the candidate’s past remarks.

But that raises one of the difficult challenges of covering religious and politics. Just how much can you press on public figures on their private faith?

Labels: Associated Press, candidates, faith, politics, religion