Bishops winning support, Obama winning votes in fight for Catholics
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The intersection of politics and religion can sometimes resemble one of those spaghetti freeway interchanges. Cars go in and cars go out, but not always in ways you might expect.
Take the recent case of the fight between President Obama and the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops. A new poll has found that Catholics who are familiar with the issue tend to side overwhelmingly with the bishops. That is, they agree that the Obama administration is threatening their religious liberty by mandating that some church-affiliated institutions, such as schools and hospitals, provide free contraceptive services to their employees, in violation of church teachings.
So Obama must be in trouble with Catholic voters, right?
Well, no.
Actually, after an initial dip, Catholic support for Obama has been steadily rising for the last several months as the bishops have strenuously pressed their case against the president’s policy, according to the poll released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The poll release was timed to coincide with the contraception mandate, which went into effect Wednesday.
Catholic support has shifted from Obama to Republican challenger Mitt Romney and back to Obama since January, when the issue first flared into public view. In April, Romney led Obama among Catholic voters, 50% to 45%, according to Pew. By the most recent poll, conducted in late June and early July, Obama led 51% to 42% (meaning that Romney had fallen even farther than Obama had climbed).
Importantly, those figures are for all Catholic voters. Among Catholic voters who were aware of the bishops’ concerns over religious liberty and agreed with them, Romney holds a commanding lead, 60% to 34%. But those tend to be the most conservative Catholics, who may have supported Romney anyway.
The poll offered some other interesting insights into the views of American Catholics, who comprise one of the largest religious voting blocs and have been an important swing vote in recent presidential elections. [more]
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24 Comments
believe it or not, I can spell
I will vote prolife this election because without the basic right to life there really are no other rights.
I guess it will have to be Romney this time around.
Glad to hear it, Tony. THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE IS THE LIFE ISSUE. Second most important is the holiness of marriage — and the Democrats are planning to add a gay “marriage” plank to their party’s platform. Anyone who votes for a Democrat is an enemy of Jesus Christ and His Church. Not a surprise that several people on this thread have said they are voting for Obama — I had predicted that would be the case, given their confused thinking, illogic, and misinformation.
Go Obama!!! You are the compassionate one. Women, Catholics and the Christian world recognize this.
Don’t group all “women” in your socialist categories.
Thomas, I think that well-read
Catholics know a lot about politics. You enjoy calling Obana a facist, but you have no documentation to back your
statement.
isn’t it amazing that people on the far right can only resort to name calling, predicting doom, and saying what they are against. They want to vote for someone without a plan, who hides his own actions, who now has been proven to want to raise taxes for everyone but the super rich. They quote Church teaching as it pleases and make no mention of care of the poor,sick or disenfranchised. But at the same time they claim that others have no knowledge of politics. Keep up the fight Dr. Sarah – maybe they will begin to get the message
Concerned — here’s my recommendation to you: watch only Fox News for the next 12 months, and read only the Wall Street Journal. Only then will you be able to see how brainwashed you are by the liberal media (with is virtually everyone except for Fox News and the WSJ).
It’s not a matter of knowledge of “politics;” it’s a matter of knowledge of “economics” and how GROWTH in the economy is created. The people on the far left want to give everything away (other workers’ taxes) in a socialist format with absolutely no understanding of the need to or how to create GROWTH in an economy and thus create jobs.
[...] Por editor el 2 de agosto, 2012 01:55 pm en EE.UU. News / 7 comentarios [...]
This article is proof that us catholics know nothing of politics and how government works. There the same self serving idiots that elected him in the first place.
Let’s face it, republicans suck at the economy. Rich get richer and the poor get poorer – soon there will be no middle class!
Your an Idiot and a fine example of who votes for the terrorist president.
Thanks, Thomas — but, more accurately, I don’t think Obama can be called a terrorist — but, I do believe he can accurately be called a fascist.
Re-elect Obama, Francis, and the only class we will have is a lower class. Without an economic engine, we will not be able to defend ourselves, and we won’t be able to influence the rest of the world. If Obama is re-elected, this will be, I’m afraid, a very dark day for the world. I believe the end result will be worse than what we saw during World War II.
thomas merton – I am a person with a political scince degree theaching the same…. mah I help you?
Francis — based on your other posts: obviously not!
We have learned to think for ourselves
Indeed, Michael — just like Eve and Adam did in the Garden — and you can see the mess that has resulted.
Indeed, it is Catholics who are responsible for Obama’s 2008 election — 54% of Catholics supported him then, when he got only 52% support from the general population. Catholics corporately should be ashamed of themselves — and, it is likely pusillanimous bishops and priests are complicit in Catholics not knowing Catholic doctrine. Witness the many misinformed posters on this blog — it would not surprise me if many of the posters with whom I routinely disagree overwhelmingly support Obama — a fascist in a likeable-man disguise. Frankly, I wouldn’t car if Obama is reelcted, but unfortunately, I am in the boat with everyone else — so, his re-election won’t hurt just those stupid enough to vote for him — his re-election will hurt me, my wife, my children, and my grandchildren.
Not at all ashamed, and will definately vote for Obama again.
Not a surprise, almondwoodturner — I predicted as much. You will deserve what you get if Obama is reelected. The only reason I care about the election is because it will hurt me and my family if Obama is reelected. As for misled people like you, I would take some satisfaction in watching you reaping the whirlwind.
I thought you were a priest, Jim! If Obama is reelected, every small investor can watch his/her 401(k) plan and IRAs stagnate or self-destruct. Obama and his administration have shown a complete lack of understanding as to how to create growth and build the economy. Obama simply does get it. Or, worse yet, maybe he does and is deliberately trying to turn our Country into a communist state. Mitt Romney, with his CEO background and knowledge and experience of how to take ruined companies and return them to economic health, is our only hope. In order to come out of this economic depression, we need to create GROWTH. Small businesses create growth by creating new jobs, and they’re scared to death to expand their businesses with this dangerous idiot and his Marxist ideals in office.
You know, Recovering, we often have different views on certain theologic issues — but I must say, what you posted above is music to my ears. I’ll join your band. Obama is the most dangerous president I believe this country ever has elected. And, the despicable, biased media consistently lobbies for him. Worse than what you say about the 401Ks is that Congress as of a few years ago had one or more closed-door meetings to consider how they might nationalize the private retirement funds. If you think this can’t happen, think again. Roosevelt in the 1930s did something similar when he made it illegal to own gold.