Posted on 11/06/2008 8:30:22 PM PST by Alex Murphy
Large numbers of Catholics and religiously unaffiliated voters heavily contributed to President-elect Barack Obama's huge margin of victory over Republican Sen. John McCain, according to an analysis of exit poll surveys by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
"Obama had a greater appeal for religious people," said John Green, a senior fellow at Pew. "I don't think we would have seen that support had Hillary [Rodham Clinton] been nominated."
Catholics voted for Mr. Obama over Mr. McCain by a nine-point margin (54 percent versus 45 percent), a turnaround from 2004 when Catholics supported President Bush over Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, by a five-point margin (52 percent to 47 percent).
Their votes came despite the warnings from 89 bishops who issued a blizzard of statements in the closing weeks of the election, warning against voting for a pro-choice candidate.
Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who last month termed Mr. Obama "the most committed 'abortion-rights' presidential candidate of either major party since the Roe v. Wade abortion decision in 1973," led the effort.
His - and other voices from church leaders - went unheeded.
"Six months ago the pundits were predicting that President-elect Obama would not do well with Catholic voters," said Steve Krueger, national director of the Boston-based group Catholic Democrats. "The fact that Senators Obama and [Joseph R.] Biden reversed a trend, since 1996, of white ethnic Catholics defecting to the Republican Party in presidential elections is of historic significance."
Mr. Obama did especially well among Hispanics, who are overwhelmingly Catholic. Two-thirds of them voted for him compared with white Catholics, who voted for Mr. McCain 52 to 47 percent over Mr. Obama.
"Latino Catholics appear to have been decisive in flipping three states from red to blue: New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada," wrote Michael Sean Winters
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
From the article, by the numbers (xx means no percentage was given for this candidate):
xx% McCain, 26% Obama - Evangelicals
xx% McCain, 34% Obama - White Protestants
xx% McCain, 45% Obama - Protestants
45% McCain, 54% Obama - Catholics
xx% McCain, 67% Obama - Hispanic Catholics
xx% McCain, 78% Obama - Jews
hypocrites
A sad state of affairs for Catholicism in the US.
So basically, toss out the freeloading hispanics, and actual American Catholics supported the Republican, even a stiff like John McCain.
These Catholics are most definitely not listening to their shepherds, the Bishops.
seems like a good amount of those catholics that switched were hispanic.
Let’s look at the states that have a Catholic majority or large (at least 35%) plurality: Rhode Island (64% Catholic), New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania. Conservative strongholds for many years/sarc.
It’s interesting that they make analysis on exit poll data, that has a lot of bias in it, including selection and interviewer.
Now the data could be close to the actual, but I would take all analysis based on exit polls with a grain of salt.
I hope they enjoy the faith hating marxism they voted for.
They aren’t “religious people” as the article says. They are secularists and probably spiritually bound to “democracy” and “socialism”.
This is why I left my church...but not my faith.
Catholic Democrats??? BABYKILLERS!!!!
But keep up the hate, brother!
The 78% Jewish vote is the saddest one. I’m convinced they have emotionally detached themselves from Israel.
Actually, most of these “Catholics” are not even Catholic enough to qualify as hypocrites. One in four Americans identifies himself as “Catholic”, but what does that mean? Some form has a question about religion and you check “Catholic” even though you haven’t been to church since your First Communion? Catholics who go to church every week — every week; not twice a year — overwhelmingly vote for Republican candidates.
Why can’t I have Catholics like you in my family?
I approached an intersection today where 4 black women were collecting donations for their church. As one started toward me I had already decided I was going to decline by saying I could not donate to any church that supported abortion. Alas, the light changed before she could get close enough for me to say it.
Catholics ignore Pope’s advice ping.
Too true! The NE is full of lying, deluded so called “Catholics”
They are all Moonbats and worship at the Kennedy fountain.
Admin.. don’t tell me to buzz off
I am going quietly.
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