Catholic voters split between Barack Obama and John McCain
A major new poll released today by Catholics for Choice reveals that Catholic voters, who make up 25% of the American electorate, are currently splitting their vote for president between Barack Obama and John McCain, but are united in their aversion to mixing religion and politics.
Seven in ten (70%) of those polled say that the views of Catholic bishops are unimportant to them in deciding for whom to vote and a similarly large proportion (73%) says they believe Catholic politicians are under no religious obligation to vote on issues the way the bishops recommend.
Catholic voters show little interest in so-called values issues to help them decide who should be the next president. Instead, they want the next president to focus on improving the economy, ending the war in Iraq and keeping the country safe from terrorism.
The race for president is currently a close one among Catholic voters.
– 42% of Catholics would vote for Democrat Barack Obama and 40% would vote for Republican John McCain, with one in six (17%) undecided.
– McCain holds a slim lead among white Catholic voters (44% to 37%), while Obama is winning the Latino Catholic vote by a huge margin (61% to 23%).
National and economic security are greater priorities for Catholic voters than are so-called values issues when considering who should be the next president of the United States. In order of importance, Catholics say that priorities are: improving the economy (68% saying it should be one of
the highest priorities); protecting the U.S. from terrorism (54%); resolving the war in Iraq (50%); and making health care more affordable (48%).
“Catholics are listening carefully to what the candidates have to say, but very few are following the dictates of the Catholic bishops when it comes to politics,” said Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice.
“While Catholic Republicans and Democrats, and McCain and Obama voters may disagree on national priorities, majorities of all of these voters strongly agree that Catholics are not obligated to heed the bishops’ recommendations,” adding that, “Sixty-nine percent of Catholics do not feel obligated to vote against candidates who support abortion.”
