Aug. 25, 2008 - Senior citizens are more likely
than younger adults to say churches should refrain from endorsing
candidates (75% of those over the age of 65 take this point of view),
according to a recent survey by Pew Research Center that also found the
U.S. public moving away from long held views that religious institutions
should speak out on political matters.
It found, however, that it is just a narrow
majority of the public saying that churches and other houses of worship
should keep out of political matters and not express their views on
day-to-day social and political matters. For a decade, majorities of
Americans had voiced support for religious institutions speaking out on
these issues.
The new national survey by the Pew Research Center
reveals that most of the reconsideration of the desirability of
religious involvement in politics has occurred among conservatives. Four
years ago, just 30% of conservatives believed that churches and other
houses of worship should stay out of politics. Today, 50% of
conservatives express this view.
As a result, conservatives' views on this issue are
much more in line with the views of moderates and liberals than was
previously the case. Similarly, the sharp divisions between Republicans
and Democrats that previously existed on this issue have disappeared.
There are other signs in the new poll about a
potential change in the climate of opinion about mixing religion and
politics, including the survey of age groups asking if they approve or
disapprove of church endorsements.
Senior citizens were adamant in their opinion that
churches should not endorse candidates, but even among those under 30,
more than six-in-ten (62%) say churches should avoid favoring one
candidate over another.
Similarly, majorities of every religious group,
including black Protestants (55%), white evangelicals (64%) and those
who attend church at least once a week (63%) oppose church endorsements
of political candidates.
Other
highlights include:
● a small but significant increase since 2004 in
the percentage of respondents saying that they are uncomfortable when
they hear politicians talk about how religious they are -- from 40% to
46%.
● the increase in negative sentiment about
religion and politics is much more apparent among Republicans than among
Democrats.
● while the Republican Party is most often seen as the party friendly
toward religion, the Democratic Party has made gains in this area.
Nearly four-in-ten (38%) now say the Democratic Party is generally
friendly toward religion, up from just 26% two years ago.
● considerably more people (52%) continue to view
the GOP as friendly toward religion.
● among people who rate gay marriage as a top
voting issue, the percentage saying that churches should stay out of
politics soared from 25% in 2004 to 50%
>> Read the
complete report on the poll by Pew Research Center for the People & the
Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life –
Click Here
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boomers
Other
highlights include: