A new survey released by the Center for Immigration Studies and conducted by Zogby International has received considerable attention since its release on December 29, 2009. Public Religion Research reviewed the sampling methodology and the questionnaire design because many of the results were inconsistent with similar questions from the American National Election Study (ANES). Dr. Robert P. Jones, president of Public Religion Research, concludes in the memo, “The CIS/Zogby poll has serious methodological shortcomings, and results should be viewed with considerable caution.”

More from the memo:

Most significantly, the Zogby poll is not based on a scientific random sample of Americans but rather on an opt-in online panel survey. Even though Zogby attempts to balance the panel to make it representative of the U.S. population, the fact remains that this self-selected pool of respondents (i.e., the people who agree to and have the means to participate in online panels) differ significantly from the general population.Why does this matter? Without a random sample such as a random digit dial telephone poll, there is no way to say that the results of this poll accurately reflect opinions in the U.S. general population.

To read the rest of the memo, click here.

First Ever Polls Comparing Conservative and Progressive Religious Activists
Show Divergent Identities and Strategies,
Common Commitment to Political Involvement

(WASHINGTON, DC) New surveys conducted by leading researchers on religion and politics in America show the divergent ways conservative and progressive religious activists understand their religious identity, engage in politics, and prioritize issues. The 2009 Religious Activist Surveys were conducted by the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron in partnership with Public Religion Research.

“Both conservative and progressive religious activists are committed to being visible and active in the political process,” said Dr. John C. Green, Director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron. “This fact suggests that the prominent role that religion played in the 2008 election is likely to continue in the future.”

“If anyone still believed that committed religious activists come down on only one side of any major policy issue, these surveys should finally put that idea to rest,” said Dr. Robert P. Jones, president of Public Religion Research. “These activists are faithful, engaged, and have widely divergent views about both the place of religion in public life and the political implications of their faith.”

Both groups of activists are more likely than members of the general public to report that religion is important in their lives, and they’re more likely to be frequent worshippers. But they approach their faith in strikingly different ways. For example, nearly half of conservative activists (48%) view scripture as the literal word of God, a view held by only 3% of progressives.

Conservative and progressive activists have markedly different political priorities. Conservative activists overwhelmingly identify abortion and same-sex marriage as most important issues. Fewer than 10% of progressive religious activists call those “most important” issues. Highest priorities for progressive activists are poverty (74%), health care (67%), environment (56%), jobs/economy (48%), and the Iraq war (45%).

Progressive religious activists perceived themselves as having significant influence on the 2008 election compared to other groups, while conservative religious activists perceived themselves as having relatively little influence. More than 4-in-10 (43%) progressive activists say that progressive religious groups had a great amount of influence, roughly as influential as labor unions (44%) and business groups (41%). By a nearly 2-to-1 margin, conservative religious activists also thought “religious progressive groups” had a greater influence than “religious conservative groups” (25% vs. 13%).

Among the findings of the surveys:

Issue positions

Conservative and progressive religious activists have sharply different views on cultural, economic, and foreign policy issues.

· Abortion. Conservative religious activists are nearly universally opposed to legalized abortion: 95% say either that abortion should be illegal in all cases (60%) or most cases (35%). In sharp contrast, 80% of progressive religious activists say abortion should be legal in all (26%) or most (54%) cases.

· Gay and Lesbian Issues. On the issue of same-sex marriage, conservatives overwhelmingly oppose (82%) both same-sex marriage and civil unions, while nearly 6-in-10 (59%) progressives support same-sex marriage, and another third support civil unions.

· Health Care. Only 6% of conservative religious activists agree that the U.S. should have comprehensive national health insurance even if it resulted in fewer choices for patients, compared to nearly 8-in-10 (78%) progressive activists who agree.

· Environment. Only 13% of conservative activists agree that more environmental protection is needed even if it raises prices or costs jobs, compared to nearly 9-in-10 (87%) progressive activists who agree.

· Torture. A significant majority of conservative religious activists say torture can often (25%) or sometimes (36%) be justified. Only 5% of progressive religious activists take either of those positions, with 79% saying torture can never be justified.

· Role of Government. Sixty-eight percent of progressive religious activists believe government should increase spending and provide more services. Among conservative religious activists, even larger margins (86%) believe that government should provide fewer services and cut spending.

Politics and the 2008 election

· In 2008, Barack Obama was the solid favorite among progressive religious activists. Conservative religious activists initially were divided but eventually rallied to McCain. Among progressive activists, 58% say Obama was their first choice in the Democratic primary, and 93% supported him in the general election. Conservative activists overwhelmingly supported John McCain in the general election, although they were initially more split among GOP contenders, with 28% calling Mike Huckabee their top choice, Romney getting 22%, and McCain 17%. However, conservative activists hold a much warmer view of McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin. Nearly 9-in-10 activists view Palin favorably, and a majority (53%) have a very favorable opinion of her.

· Both religious activist groups cite faith as an important factor in their voting decision, but conservative activists were more likely to say that their faith was the most important factor. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of the conservative activists say their faith was the most important factor in deciding how to vote in 2008, and another 29% say their faith was as important as other factors. Among progressive activists, 1-in-5 say faith was the most important factor, and 41% report that faith was as important as other factors in deciding who to support in the election.

· Conservative and progressive religious activists report relatively similar levels of participation in traditional campaign activities such as making campaign donations or signing petitions. However, progressive religious activists were much more likely to have participated in a range of online campaign activities. Also, while both groups were active in the presidential campaigns, conservative activists report being somewhat more active than progressives in congressional campaigns (46% vs. 41%), statewide campaigns (41% vs. 37%), and ballot issues (42% vs. 34%).

Religion in public life

· Conservative and progressive religious activists both support a role for religion in public life, but the groups have strongly diverging views of church-state separation. Eighty-one percent of progressive religious activists say the U.S. “should maintain a strict separation of church and state,” a position taken by only 21% of conservative activists.

· More than two-thirds of conservative religious activists say there was not enough public expression of faith and prayer by political leaders during the 2008 election, compared to only 5% of progressive religious activists. Among progressive activists, a majority (52%) say the amount of religious expression by political leaders in 2008 was about right.

· In terms of future public engagement, both conservative and progressive activists strongly emphasized the importance of being publicly visible and politically active. Conservative activists were more likely to emphasize the importance of prayer, whereas progressive activists were more likely to emphasize the importance of civility, pluralism, and social justice.

The full report, including a description of survey methodology, and the survey top lines are available at http://www.publicreligion.org/research/.

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A report released today by Public Religion Research finds that mainline Protestant clergy are broadly supportive of equality for gay and lesbian Americans.  The report is based on the most in-depth study ever conducted of theological and political attitudes among Mainline clergy toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues in the church and society.

“Mainline clergy are generally more supportive of equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans than the general public,” said Dr. Robert P. Jones, President of Public Religion Research, which conducted the study.   “Clergy in these denominations have wrestled with theological questions around sexuality and report that they’ve been moving toward more supportive positions on equal rights in society and full inclusion in the church.”

The Clergy Voices Survey (CVS) is the only survey of Mainline clergy in seven years, and the most comprehensive ever in scope. Findings on broad social and political attitudes and behavior during the 2008 election cycle were released earlier this spring; the report released today analyzes the answers to more than 60 in-depth questions about attitudes toward sexuality and the role of LGBT people in the church and broader society.

Martin Marty, a leading scholar on Mainline Protestantism, said the “Uncertain Middle” identified in the survey illustrates a paradox of what he calls Ecumenical Protestantism. “Because it seeks to minister to an ever more pluralist America and internally diverse church, it concentrates on conversation more than confrontation, dialogue more than diatribe.”  Marty says this characteristic “represents one strength of this group of clergy who are well-suited to our current task of living justly together amidst our differences.”

I wanted to flag this new article I have up on Religion Dispatches. The full text is available here.

The familiar story about religion in public life is populated with stock characters repeating conservative diatribes and constructed from worn plot lines that circle endlessly around wedge issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion. A recent AP story titled “Christians Optimistic but Disappointed in Obama” largely followed this script, focusing heavily on evangelicals, just one slice of the diverse Christian family.

But now, as the late Paul Harvey would say, we are getting “the rest of the story,” as more diverse religious voices are entering the public sphere. What might be surprising to many Americans is the existence of a large number of Christian clergy who are liberal-minded, politically engaged, and eager to be more involved in public debates on social justice issues.

These clergy, who are more concerned with the common good than with sectarian strife, are signs of hope for our troubled times. President Obama’s faith was nurtured in a mainline Protestant denomination—the United Church of Christ—and the data shows that he’ll find in mainline clergy a deep well of support on many of the defining issues of the day. While many conservative religious leaders and pundits continue a tired refrain, mainline Protestant clergy are widely supportive of energetic government action to tackle economic problems like unemployment, environmental protection, and the catastrophe of millions of Americans who lack access to adequate health care.

More than three-quarters of mainline clergy today agree that the federal government should do more to solve broad societal problems like unemployment, poverty, and poor housing. Almost 70 percent say the government should do more to protect the environment, even if it raises prices and costs jobs. And more than two-thirds agree that the government should guarantee health insurance for all citizens, even if it means higher taxes.

This very different public face of Christian clergy is documented in a recently-released extensive survey conducted by Public Religion Research among clergy from the seven largest mainline denominations: United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, American Baptist Churches USA, Presbyterian Church USA, Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ, and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). This isn’t a homogenous group, and there are some significant differences across denominational lines, but support for an activist, justice-seeking government that works for the common good cuts across all of them….

Continue reading the complete article at Religion Dispatches here.

Wanted to flag this article from The Christian Century covering Public Religion Research’s Mainline Protestant Clergy Voices Survey.  The full article is available here.

Mainline called uncounted force for change

by John Dart

The White House has an oft-overlooked religious ally for solving the country’s social problems through greatly expanded government programs, if a new survey of senior pastors in mainline Protestant churches is a good indication…Though mainline Protestants, declining in numbers, no longer enjoy the political and cultural prominence they had in the 1950s and early 1960s, they should not be counted out, Jones said.

Mainline Protestants make up 18 percent of all Americans and nearly a quarter of all voters, he said, adding that main line clergy are “an important swing constituency that has been moving slowly but steadily away from the GOP since the early 1990s.” At the same time, the clergy reflect the American diversity of opinion on several controversial issues [read the highlights of these findings here]…

Conservative Protestants and think tanks on the right “like to portray [mainline clergy] as ideological leftists, [but] ‘Clergy Voices’ does not find them so,” said religion historian Martin E. Marty in his online “Sightings” commentary March 9. “They have voices in public affairs, but rarely and mildly try to project or enforce social justice ‘dogma.’”

“Politicians who would organize and exploit them, as they do some other religious groups, would have difficulty doing so,” said Marty, a Century contributing editor, because of regional and denominational differences. “Yes, half call themselves ‘liberal,’ because they are not afraid of the label, but a third are ‘conservative.’”

Public Religion Research’s Jones, a visiting fellow at The Third Way, a progressive think tank, said mainline churches value unity in diversity, which amounts to “a real strength” in an increasingly polarized society…

Continue reading the complete article from The Christian Century.

See the full results of the survey from Public Religion Research here.

Mainline Protestants make up nearly 1-in-5 American adults. In 2004, they accounted for nearly a quarter of the total electorate and split their vote between Bush and Kerry. Yet despite this they are too often ignored by much of the mainstream press. On March 6, Public Religion Research released the 2008 Clergy Voices Survey, the broadest survey of mainline clergy every conducted. The survey revealed levels of political engagement among clergy during the 2008 election season, attitudes on social and economic issues, and the public role of the church.

Among the wealth of details revealed by the survey. We found that mainline clergy are strong proponents of amore active role for government. Nearly 8-in-10 clergy say that the federal government should do more to solve social problems like unemployment, poverty and poor housing. More than two thirds agree that government should guarantee health insurance for all citizens, even if it means raising taxes. And nearly 7-in-10 say more environmental protection is needed, even if it raises prices or costs jobs.

To read the full report, click here.

A groundbreaking survey conducted by Public Religion Research and sponsored by Faith in Public Life details how younger Americans are transforming the political landscape in 2008. The report also reveals the issue priorities and the politics of young evangelicals and young Catholics. The full report can be found here.

Some highlights include:

Monthly worship attenders swing to Obama in 2008. The greatest shift in candidate preference between 2004 and 2008 has occurred among all voters who attend religious services once or twice a month, moving from 49% support for Kerry in 2004 to 60% support for Obama in 2008.

More Americans think Obama is friendly to religion than McCain. Forty-nine percent of Americans say Obama is friendly to religion, while 45% say McCain is friendly to religion. More than seven-in-ten (71%) say it is important for public officials to be comfortable talking about religious values.

Young first-time voters are heavily supporting Obama. Among young first-time voters, who make up close to one-third of this age group (ages 18-34), more than seven-in-ten (71%) support Obama, compared to slightly more than half (53%) of young voters who have voted in previous elections.

Younger Catholics more strongly support Obama, abortion rights, and more active government than older Catholics. While older Catholics (age 35 and older) are split between the candidates (46% for McCain and 44% for Obama), among younger Catholics Obama leads McCain by 15 points (55% to 40%). Six-in-ten younger Catholics say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared to half of older Catholics. Younger Catholics are more pro-government than any other religious group, with two-thirds preferring bigger government with more services, compared to 41% support among older Catholics.

Younger white evangelicals strongly oppose abortion rights but are less conservative and more supportive of same-sex marriage than older evangelicals.  Young white evangelicals are strongly opposed to abortion rights, with two-thirds saying abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. Yet, less than a majority (49%) of younger evangelicals identify as conservative, compared to nearly two-thirds (65%) of older evangelicals.  Among young evangelicals, a majority favor either same-sex marriage (24%) or civil unions    (28%), compared to a majority (61%) of older evangelicals who favor no legal recognition of gay couples’ relationships.

Younger white evangelicals are more pluralistic and more supportive of active government at home and of diplomacy abroad. While less than one-third (30%) of older evangelicals say a person can be moral without believing in God, 44% of younger evangelicals affirm this idea, a 14-point gap. A majority (56%) of younger evangelicals believe diplomacy rather than military strength is the best way to ensure peace, compared to only 44% of older white evangelicals. Younger white evangelicals are also more likely than older white evangelicals to favor a bigger government offering more services, by a margin of 21 points (44% and 23% respectively).