Philocrites

Mainline Protestants shifted to Kerry, Catholics to Bush.

by Philocrites

The Associated Press reports that "John F. Kerry managed the best showing in decades for a Democratic presidential candidate among mainline Protestants, but his failure to capture a majority of Roman Catholics — people of his own faith — gave President Bush an important advantage in last November's election," according to a Pew Forum post-election phone survey. Key findings:

Among non-Hispanic Catholics, Kerry won the support of 69 percent of those with liberal or "modernist" beliefs, while 72 percent of "traditionalists" favored Bush. But 55 percent of the key swing group of "centrists" picked Bush over Kerry, who was criticized by bishops for his support of abortion rights.

The upshot: A onetime Democratic mainstay, Catholics gave Bush an overall edge of 53 percent to Kerry's 47 percent.

Overall, the mainline Protestant vote split evenly, the poll suggested, with a Bush decline of 10 percent from 2000 and the best showing for a Democrat since the 1960s.

Here's the Pew Forum report.

Copyright © 2005 by Philocrites | Posted 4 February 2005 at 8:37 AM

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