New Post-Election Poll Demonstrates Political Diversity of Evangelical Christians
Click through for polling memo and teleconference audio.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Polling Memo: New Post-Election Poll Demonstrates Political Diversity of Evangelical Christians
Press Conference Audio here.
In the 2008 election, media organizations and pollsters are treating evangelicals as an ideologically monolithic voting bloc. As evidence, exit polls sponsored by the major networks, CNN, Fox, and the Associated Press, which provide the basis for dozens of hours and thousands of inches of election analysis, have only asked one party's primary voters whether they considered themselves “born-again or evangelical Christian.”
Faith in Public Life and the Center for American Progress Action Fund conducted a post-election poll in two Super Tuesday states, Missouri and Tennessee, to test this assumption – to find out whether self-described evangelicals are an ideologically monolithic voting bloc, or if they are more diverse in their views than the media assumes.
WHEN: Monday, February 11, 2008 at 11:00 AM EDT
WHERE: By telephone 1-866-682-6100, ID: Evangelical Poll
WHO: Dr. Joel Hunter, Senior Pastor, Northland A Church Distributed and Former President, Christian Coalition
Rev. Jim Wallis, Founder, Sojourners
Dr. Robert P. Jones, expert and consultant on religion and politics
The poll conducted for Faith in Public Life and the Center for American Progress Action Fund by Zogby International on February 5-6 found:
• Large numbers of evangelicals participated in the Missouri and Tennessee Republican and Democratic primaries. While exit polls in both states identified all Republican white evangelical voters, the Missouri exit polls failed to identify 160,000 white evangelical Democratic voters – a figure greater than all voters under 30, equal to all voters over age 65, and equal to all voters who said the Iraq war is the most important issue facing the country, according to the Missouri Democratic exit polls. The Tennessee exit polls failed to identify 182,000 white evangelical Democratic voters – a figure equal to all African-American voters, greater than all voters over 60, and greater than all voters who said the Iraq war is the most important issue facing the country, according to the Tennessee Democratic exit polls.
• Majorities of both Democratic and Republicans evangelical voters want a broader agenda that goes beyond abortion and same-sex marriage to include ending poverty, protecting the environment, and tackling HIV/AIDS. Sixty-two percent of white evangelical voters in Missouri embrace a broader agenda (75 percent of Democratic voters and 56 percent of Republican voters). In Tennessee, 56 percent of white evangelical voters embrace a broader agenda (60 percent of Democratic voters and 54 percent of Republican voters).
• In both Missouri and Tennessee, white evangelicals who ranked jobs and economy as the most important issue area in deciding how to vote far outnumbered those who considered abortion and same-sex marriage most important.
In failing to ask both Republicans and Democrats if they are evangelicals, the media pollsters reinforce the false and outdated stereotype that evangelicals are only concerned with one set of issues and ignore the increasing ideological diversity of the evangelical movement. It's time for the media to update their script and provide balanced coverage of the role of religion in public life.
Faith in Public Life is a communications and organizing resource center dedicated to helping faith leaders reclaim the values debate in America for justice, compassion, and the common good. Faith in Public Life is a nonpartisan 501(c) (3) organization. For more information, visit www.faithinpubliclife.org.
The Center for American Progress Action Fund is the sister advocacy organization of the Center for American Progress . The Action Fund transforms progressive ideas into policy through rapid response communications, legislative action, grassroots organizing and advocacy, and partnerships with other progressive leaders throughout the country and the world. The Action Fund is also the home of the Progress Report.
CONTACT: Katie Barge, Faith in Public Life, 202.243.8289
