The Truth About Evangelicals

[JerrySeinfeld]

Faith and politics

National Post

Published: Monday, November 06, 2006

According to political cliche, Americans voting in tomorrow's mid-term elections fall into two categories: coastal Democrats, who are so left-wing they might as well be honorary Canadians, and gay-bashing, bible-thumping hayseeds of the South and Midwest. That is certainly the way the media is playing things: Just about every election story you see dwells on the question of whether Republicans will be able to get their religious "base" out to the polls in sufficient numbers to save the Senate from falling into Democratic hands. As a CBC Radio report put it last week, "The Republican[s'] core of white suburban Christian mega-churches [are the party's] font of votes, the key to victory."

This simplistic narrative is attractive to American liberals, many of whom see organized religion as a form of brainwashing, and so savour the idea that their enemies' ranks are dominated by unthinking GOP zombies who march in lock-step from church to ballot box.

Yet as the numbers show, it's a myth. Yes, America's conservative Christians do tilt Republican. But the numbers aren't nearly as overwhelming as many believe. In a WorldPublicOpinion.org poll released on Thursday, 41% of polled evangelicals said they planned to vote for Democratic congressional candidates, versus 56% who planned to vote Republican. And even this may be overstating the GOP advantage: A New York Times/CBS poll conducted in late October had the evangelical vote split nearly down the middle between the two major parties (42% Democrat vs. 41% Republican).

Nor are evangelical Christians dogmatic defenders of George W. Bush's defining project, the war to oust Saddam Hussein and bring democracy to the Middle East. A full 50% of evangelicals polled by WorldPublicOpinion said they wanted a "new approach" to foreign policy. Forty-nine percent agree that the Bush administration "plays on people's fears too much" when promoting its foreign policies. And 44% of polled evangelicals say they want the administration to put a greater focus on diplomacy in protecting the United States from foreign threats.

These numbers shouldn't be that surprising. Evangelicals originally flocked to Bush and his party because he presented himself as an observant Christian who respects traditional American values. After 9/11, the embrace got tighter, because these same voters saw Bush as one of the few world leaders willing to defend those values in the face of Islamist fanaticism. They supported the Iraq war not because there is something inherently bellicose about religious Christianity, or out of millenarian fanaticism, but because Saddam Hussein was viewed as a serious threat to the American people and their way of life. Now that the war's aftermath has proven a disappointment, those same churchgoers are -- contrary to zombie stereotype -- re-evaluating their options.

In other words, religious voters are just like everyone else: When the facts change, so do their opinions. It's common sense worth remembering as we weather the barrage of paternalistic media stories announcing America's biennial parade of the undead.

[Electric Monk]

I've been looking for stats online, but I can't find any with the correct demographic breakdown. The only data I've heard was Howard Dean on The Daily Show saying that the Democrats got one third of the white evangelical Christian vote in the midterm election, saying it was unheard of. Does this mean that two thirds voted Republican?

Again though, I can't find the data online and would appreciate linkage.

[newbie]

In other words, religious voters are just like everyone else: When the facts change, so do their opinions. It's common sense worth remembering as we weather the barrage of paternalistic media stories announcing America's biennial parade of the undead.

Best you check the demographics re the election in 2004. Bush would not have won without the evangelical vote. The fact that some of them are shifting now shows you how bad Bush's policies have been.

[Figleaf]

Just wondering: Is there supposed to be a difference between 'evangelicals' and 'fundamentalists'?

[sharkman]

I think there is supposed to be a difference, but I don't think they are worlds apart.

[JerrySeinfeld]

In other words, religious voters are just like everyone else: When the facts change, so do their opinions. It's common sense worth remembering as we weather the barrage of paternalistic media stories announcing America's biennial parade of the undead.

Best you check the demographics re the election in 2004. Bush would not have won without the evangelical vote. The fact that some of them are shifting now shows you how bad Bush's policies have been.

No it doesn't. It means they changed their mind. Which is the point of the article: The lefty CBC media BS that Bush's "base" is white evangelical christians is simply not true. Another CBC fabrication debunked.

[Electric Monk]

Newsweek , The Washington Post, and The Christian Science Monitor say the same thing. I think that's a pretty good cross-section of the North American main-stream media. I don't think you would accuse the Post , or CSM of being "lefty".

[jdobbin]

Here is the info on the vote breakdown.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/061110/usa/..._religion_sched

[JerrySeinfeld]

Newsweek , The Washington Post, and The Christian Science Monitor say the same thing. I think that's a pretty good cross-section of the North American main-stream media. I don't think you would accuse the Post , or CSM of being "lefty".

The Washington Post is one of the worst lefty offending rags of the bunch!!!

But still - Agreed - it's a misperception that cuts a good cross section.

[newbie]

In other words, religious voters are just like everyone else: When the facts change, so do their opinions. It's common sense worth remembering as we weather the barrage of paternalistic media stories announcing America's biennial parade of the undead.

Best you check the demographics re the election in 2004. Bush would not have won without the evangelical vote. The fact that some of them are shifting now shows you how bad Bush's policies have been.

No it doesn't. It means they changed their mind. Which is the point of the article: The lefty CBC media BS that Bush's "base" is white evangelical christians is simply not true. Another CBC fabrication debunked.

And changed their minds why? Gee, take your pick: worsening in Iraq or Repub scandals. In either case Bush was to blame for losing Congress.

[Electric Monk]

Newsweek , The Washington Post, and The Christian Science Monitor say the same thing. I think that's a pretty good cross-section of the North American main-stream media. I don't think you would accuse the Post , or CSM of being "lefty".

The Washington Post is one of the worst lefty offending rags of the bunch!!!

But still - Agreed - it's a misperception that cuts a good cross section.

Thanks for the correction, I was under the impression that the Post was right-leaning.

[Electric Monk]

According to John C. Green (Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life), evangelicals voted 70% GOP in the 2006 midterms, looks like a base to me.