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Religious voters favor McCain, poll claims

Comments: 12

Sen. John McCain / Sen. Barack Obama

Princeton, N.J., Jul 15, 2008 / 06:17 am (CNA).- A new Gallup Poll claims to show that registered voters who say religion is important in their lives tend to support presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain by a margin of 50 to 40 percent, while those who say religion is unimportant to their lives tend to support presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama by a margin of 55 to 36 percent.

About two-thirds of the registered voters surveyed by Gallup said that religion is important to them.

According to the Gallup Poll, which surveyed 95,000 registered voters from March through June 2008, the divide in voting preference is not confined to white Protestants but is manifested among non-Hispanic white Catholics as well.

Non-Hispanic white Catholics who say religion is important in their daily lives support McCain over Obama by 53 percent to 37 percent. Those who say religion is not important slightly favor Obama by a margin of 47 percent to 45 percent.

Hispanic Catholics, black non-Catholic Christians, and those who do not have a specific religious identity reportedly tend to support Barack Obama, but their support apparently is little affected by the importance of religion in their lives.

Hispanic Catholics who say religion is important in their lives support Obama over McCain 57 to 31, while those who say religion is not important support Obama by a margin of 63 to 30 percent.

Among non-Catholic Christians, those who say religion is important in their daily lives support McCain 63 percent to Obama’s 27 percent.
Those who say religion is not important are split between the candidates, with 46 percent support McCain and 45 percent supporting Obama.

About 12 percent of Americans who say they have no specific religious identity strongly support Obama. Those among this group who say religion is not important in their lives support Obama over McCain by a margin of 65 to 26 percent.

Among those with no specific religious identity who say religion is important in their lives, Obama wins by a margin of 61 to 28 percent, according to Gallup.

Comments: 12

Subscriber comments:

Published by: mary k
Indianapolis IN USA 10/01/2008 12:35 PM EST

to bob above, mccain is not necessarily pro-war.no one "wants" war. sometimes there is a need for war, and we are allowed to stand up for what is right and to protect the innocent and defenseless. "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."--John Stuart Mill
"But to the hero, when his sword has won the battle for the free, thy voice sounds like a prophet's word; and in its hollow tones are heard the thanks of millions yet to be. --Fitz-Green Halleck I am concerned that people think obama represents any sort of Catholic ideals. there is nothing wrong with rich people. if it wasn't for rich people i would never have gotten a job. i've never been hired by a poor person. there are great spiritual advantages to being poor. Of course we must help the poor with food, clothing, and shelter, and help them find jobs, but it seems obama wants a classless society, and that is a frightening thing.

Published by: James
Tampa/FL 07/16/2008 09:51 PM EST

Followers of Jesus can not work to elect a man who is not willing to protect all the babies that have miraculously survived an abortion. Barrack Obama is one of the few men alive who is in favor of keeping partial birth abortions legal; additionally he favors the destruction of all the babies that survive abortions at the will of an abortionist, and sadly he promotes the deadly and completely unnecessary research done on embryonic stem cells. Each of these stands is in-defensible for a follower of Jesus Christ. In prayer we must ask our Mother Mary about the pain and suffering of all these millions upon millions of mothers who suffer deeply on account of their abortion. We Catholics are not morally allowed to vote for Barrack Obama because he has promised to continue these immoral stands. This is non-negotiable and supporters of Barrack are complicit in mortal sin with their votes. The war though not something any man of sound mind favors, is not morally in the same category of non-negotiable.

Published by: James
Tampa 07/16/2008 11:47 AM EST

Ask our Mother Mary in prayer about the pain and suffering of all these millions upon millions of mothers who suffer deep deep wounds on account of their abortion. We Catholics are not allowed to vote for Barrack Obama because he has promised to continue his stand favoring abortions on demand. This is non-negotiable and supporters of Barrack are complicit in mortal sin. The war though not something any man of sound mind favors, is not morally in the same category of non-negotiable for voters.

Published by: James
Port Orange/FL/USA 07/15/2008 10:43 PM EST

After all we Catholics have been given by Pope John Paul the Great and our current Pope, Pope Benedict on the Theology of the Body, not one Catholic should support Barrack Obama on account of his stand on homosexuality. The Theology of the Body is the clearest argument there is for Christians to do all they can to see that Barack Obama is not our next President. The culture of death led in vast part by a media that fully promotes the illusionary concept of homosexual marriage is fully supported by Barrack Obama. This stand is an attack on The Lord and the Sacrament of marriage. We can not let this happen! Christians must unite and fight so these travesties of Justice never happen in America. God Bless America, Land that I love!!

Published by: Frank Niemiec
Phoenix/AZ/USA 07/15/2008 06:39 PM EST

One of the respondents suggests that Mr. Obama is more consistent in supporting Catholic values and disregards his pro-abortion views even to the point where Obama supports killing a baby who somehow survives an abortion.
Being Pro-Life is non-negotiable.

Published by: Terence
Socorro,NM 07/15/2008 06:36 PM EST

So I guess not being pro-rich means we should eliminate all rich people? Or not being pro-gun means we should eliminate the 2nd amendment. Or that there could never be a reason consistant with Christianity for going to war? All of those ideas seem more dangerous. I actually am afraid of an Obama presidency because he is at heart a marxist with all that entails.

Published by: REEG
Beaverton/OR/USA 07/15/2008 05:05 PM EST

McCain acknowledges the sanctity of life in the womb. Obama does not. As Catholics, we are to always oppose abortion as intrinsically evil. All other so-called rights are meaningless with out this one - the right to life. It makes sense that those who consider religion important would also consider life in the womb important.

Published by: Natalia
New York, NY 07/15/2008 04:22 PM EST

Dear Bob,

If in the next life you can, to paraphrase Archbishop Chaput, look into the eyes of tens of millions of aborted American babies and tell them in good conscience that Obama was "more constistent with Catholic teachings on the overall ethic of life," then go ahead and cast your vote for him.

Published by: michael
sayville/ny/usa 07/15/2008 01:55 PM EST

The comment that Obama adheres to Catholic social teaching overall misses the mark completely. The Church has clearly stated the killing of unborn babies must take precedence above all other social issues. Removing religion from the issue i could not vote for someone that calls for the killing of babies both in and out of the womb, this is an evil that is destroying our society more then any other issue.

Published by: Bob Walz
North Branch MN USA 07/15/2008 11:42 AM EST

Rate: Regular

How can any Christian support McCain given that he is pro-war, pro-gun and pro-rich. He clearly does not reflect Christian values. If you look at Catholic social teachings, the clear choice is Barrack Obama, albeit, his position on abortion does not follow the church's teachings, but on the whole, he is more constistent with Catholic teachings on the overall ethic of life.

Published by: ral
orlando 07/15/2008 07:47 AM EST

The title says, "Religious voters favor McCain".

The first sentence says, "voters who say religion is important in their lives...support McCain"

That's two different things.

There is a difference between saying you are something and actually being it.

Mark Foley said supported protecting children from predators was important to him. What he practised was the opposite. He said what he thought people wanted to hear. He paid lip service to it

Those who claim that religion is important to them but then support the lying adulterer who advocates more war and death are paying lip service to the appearance of being religious, not actually practising religion.

The question should have been, do you support McCain because you are afraid of an Obama presidency. Then the truth might have come out.

It is belief in fear that really drives many so-celled "religious" voters to McCain: fear of attack, fear of foreigners, fear of people who don't look, act and speak as they do.

And the Republicans know it. Which is why, once again, they're playing the fear card for all it's worth. It's all they have - and they're very good at scaring people and invoking God in the same breath.

But, let's be clear; saying that religion is important to you and actually being religious are two very different things.

Published by: Eric Slaughter
Indianapolis, IN USA 07/15/2008 06:57 AM EST

What about Black Catholics?

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