I DON'T BELIEVE THAT POLL!
Posted on 07/02/2004 3:12:29 PM PDT by The Bandit
WASHINGTON, July 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Catholic voters are aligned with the rest of the nation on the issue of abortion. The majority of Catholic voters are more likely to call themselves "prochoice" (53 percent) than "prolife" (45 percent) on abortion, and a preponderance believe abortion should be legal (61 percent). Four in ten Catholic voters (38 percent) "strongly" or "somewhat" disagree that abortion should be legal, and more Catholic voters feel "strongly" in favor of legal abortion (33 percent) than opposed (22 percent).
Few Catholic voters consider abortion an issue of primary importance in the elections. Just one quarter (27 percent) say they would "definitely vote against" a candidate for president if that candidate had a different position from theirs on abortion; 38 percent say they would "maybe vote against" such a candidate; 34 percent say either the candidate's position would not change their vote.
Three-quarters of Catholic voters (74 percent) DO NOT believe that Catholics "have a religious obligation to vote against candidates who support legal abortion." This includes those who attend mass frequently (58 percent), Republicans (58 percent), and conservatives (54 percent). A quarter (24 percent) does believe this obligation exists.
The data suggest that among Catholic voters, abortion as a political issue does not provide much of an advantage to either side of the debate. Of those with strong agreement or disagreement with legal abortion, six in ten (58 percent) of antichoice Catholics and one-third (30 percent) of prochoice Catholics say they would "definitely" vote against the candidate who took a position on abortion "different from (their own)."
The complete poll will be released Tuesday, July 13. It is the largest and most statistically significant poll available of Catholic opinions on 2004 election issues and recent actions of the US bishops. From June 2-10, 2004, prominent DC polling firm Belden Russonello and Stewart surveyed 2,239 Catholics, including 366 Hispanic Catholics. The survey has a plus/minus 2.1 percentage-point margin of error.
Catholics in Political Life: Challenges to Faith in Democracy is a project of Catholics for a Free Choice designed to reveal insights into the motivations of Catholic voters as they consider the choices in the presidential campaign and to analyze how Catholics respond to the role of the Catholic hierarchy in the elections. Visit http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/lowbandwidth/whatsnew.htm to view all five daily releases from the Faith in Democracy: The Catholic Vote in 2004 poll. To obtain a full copy of the results on July 13, please contact Michelle Ringuette at (202) 986-6093.
God! The Great Democrat...!
This poll is utterly absurd and shows just how watered-down the faith of most "practicing" Catholics has become...
Poisoned source. CFFC is an anti-Catholic, pro-abortion lobbying and agitation enterprise run by a former abortion clinic proprietor and funded by heavy-duty pro-death, far-left "charities" like the Ford Foundation. Neutral and unbiased they aren't.
I'm a Catholic, and I am ashamed. Thats all I can say.
I was disheartened until I discovered the source. I'd think twice before believing a poll by CFFC.
CFFC is an anti-Catholic organization. Anything they say about the Catholic Church or Catholics can be disregarded.
The polls to be trusted on abortion are the ones that give results you would NOT expect from the source--like the one from a feminist group that showed the majority of American women supported severe restrictions on abortion. On the other hand, I am very sure the media will give this poll (and so-called Catholics for a Free Choice) banner headlines when the official release date comes around.
Klavg, the article said nothing about "practicing" catholics. Don't just blame my faith.
But then "Catholics for a Free Choice" is an oxymoron to begin with.
Poor unloved babies.
Far too many are over-doing the tolerance portion of everything. They support the Clintons and respect their pseudo-marriage because we must be tolerant of those choosing open, adulterous marriage. Tolerance for perversions, tolerance for abortions, tolerance for everything.
There is a automobile parked outside the Catholic church here every Sunday morning that has both a "we vote pro-life" bumper sticker and a "clinton-gore" bumper sticker --- maybe some people are just stupid and ignorant of almost everything.
And sadly, most Catholics will vote D....again....
The word 'Catholic' must be too general. This sounds like American Catholics: diametrically opposed to Roman Catholics. I'm a member of the latter group, as are all members of my family and NONE of us is pro-abortion. Whatever the real story, this is the result of the spineless Bishops who haven't done a good job of teaching values for at least two generations. . . could have been too busy covering up for themselves. We must outlive them.
My understanding is that new priests are much more responsible about their need to preach about real issues.
Obviously the 'Me' generation included plenty of Church hierarchy starting in the late '50s.
I wonder how Jesus voted.
Could we have a breakdown by regular church goers vs A&P catholics.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.