Washington D.C., Oct 23, 2012 / 16:03 pm
An analysis of Catholic women during the 2012 election season shows significant levels of agreement with Church teaching on contraception, as well as unity with other Americans in being concerned about the economy.
"I think the data here paint an interesting picture of Catholic women, in that Catholic women are more likely to agree with the Catholic Church hierarchy on both the social justice issues and also the social issues such as abortion," said Melissa Deckman, political science professor at Washington College.
In an Oct. 22 panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Deckman analyzed how Catholics fit into "the gender gap in American presidential elections."
The women's vote is historically important, she said, noting that there are more women registered to vote and likely to vote than men in the U.S.
For decades, women have preferred Democratic candidates, she explained, and this held true in the 2008 election, in which Obama received 56 percent of the women's vote while only receiving 49 percent of the men's vote. In contrast, Republican candidate John McCain received only 43 percent of the women's vote.