Study Finds Religious Polarization in U.S. Voters

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Voters in last year's presidential election showed a new polarization within some religious faiths, a fact that may make it all the harder for Democrats to recapture the White House, according to a report released on Thursday.

President Bush ``depended heavily on traditionalist Christians, while (Democratic opponent John) Kerry had a more diverse coalition characterized by minority faiths, the unaffiliated and modernist (more liberal) Christians,'' said the report.

It was probably easier for the Republicans to mobilize their more homogeneous coalition than for the Democrats to mobilize their more diverse group, said the survey from the University of Akron's Bliss Institute of Applied Politics.

Polarization within religions is relatively new, the report said, and Bliss Institute director John Green said this development may make it more difficult to forge coalitions on social issues.

Mainline Protestants, who traditionally lean Republican, divided their votes between Bush and Kerry, giving the Democrat the highest level of support from that area in recent times, the report said.

Once a bedrock of Democratic support, non-Latino Catholics last year gave more than half of their vote to Bush. Green also found more support than four years earlier from black Protestants and Latino Catholics.

He said Bush captured votes from middle-of-the-road Christians, especially Catholics, people the Democrats need to court in the future.

Green told Reuters the findings indicate Democrats have their work cut out if they want to win back the White House four years from now.

``These numbers reinforce the notion that this was (an election) where both sides did a good job of getting out their core voters. The problem for the Democrats is that the result still favored the Republicans,'' he said.

But ``the polarization may well make it more difficult to reach the centrists,'' he said, especially when it comes to making compromises on social issues that will appeal to entire spectrums of the faithful.

``The strong support from traditionalists gives the GOP a leg up in 2008. They can't just depend upon them because traditionalists are not numerous enough. But it provides the GOP with a strong base to which they can add more moderate groups,'' he said.

At the same time, he said the Democrats' base of more progressive faithful and those who are not affiliated with any religion ``is smaller and more difficult to mobilize, so they have to work doubly hard.''

The fourth annual survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, covered a representative sample of 2,730 Americans who were contacted in the spring of 2004 and again in the weeks after the November election. It had an error margin of 2.5 points plus or minus.

--Economic and foreign policy issues overall were more important for voters than social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. But social issues were more important to those who voted for Bush, while economic issues motivated Kerry voters.

--Kerry made inroads into voters who were not affiliated with major religions, but they were not moved to vote at any higher level than they did in 2000.

--Bush's biggest gain in terms of religious affiliation came among Protestant Latinos, a relatively small segment of the population, who moved from the Democratic to the Republican camp in 2004 compared to 2000.

--In the end only 21 percent of voters said their faith was more important than other factors in casting their vote and another 26 percent said it was about as important as anything else in their decision -- a combined total of less than half.

I don't think that Paul openly rebuking Peter in front of the brethren over Peter's backing down from what God had spoken to him in vision counts as polarization.

Paul let Peter have it right between the eyes and Peter repented because he had let himself be influenced by Other high ranking preachers in the Church who were presumably also in error. The Church did not split into two camps and form two denominations the Church of the circumcision and the Church of the non-circumcision.

Peter repented and they went to Jerusalem and fixed it then and there.

I have found a good passage on this and I'll paste it here.

For three Chapters Paul is worked up over the Corinthians having divided themselves up as the disciples of different apostles and teachers. Paul flat tells us that only the carnal (self serving) and babes would ever think such a thing. At the end Paul concludes that we are not disciples of any teacher preacher apostle of prophet but we belong to Christ, He purchased us with his blood. And right in the beginning Paul asked was Paul crucified for you. This is critical that we understand that we can only be the disciples of one – that is Jesus Christ. And if we make ourselves the disciple of another as Eve did in the garden when she became a disciple of the serpent we are no longer Christ’s. Eve heard the voice of another, she believed the words of another, she was obedient to the words of another, she taught the words of another, and then she made disciples of her master.

Paul tells us here he laid a foundation – he then issues a clarification and a warning of men building foundations by saying Take heed for no other foundation can one lay but Jesus Christ. And then Paul issues an even sterner warning that God will destroy anyone that defiles the temple with a foundation other than Jesus Christ and Paul concludes this lesson on discipleship reminding us that the pastor teachers apostles and prophets like the world like life and death like the things present and like the things to come are all to be our servants and we are to serve none of them or become the disciples of none of them because we are Christ’s.

I Corinthians 1:11-14 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you . . . .

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

1 Corinthians 3:4-6 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

1Corinthians 3:10-11 For I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1 Corinthians 3:22-23 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are your's; And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.

This is a lot more far reaching than circumcision and it is here with us today in spades.

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