Media Advisory: July 16, 2010
Contact: Adam Muhlendorf, Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications
(202) 265-3000; (202) 641-6216 (c); adam@rabinowitz-dorf.com

New Poll:  Only One-in-Five Californians Say Proposition 8 ‘Good Thing’

Comprehensive New Poll Examining Religious Based Attitudes on Same Sex Marriage Two Years after Proposition 8 to be released on Wednesday

LOS ANGELES - A new survey of over 3,000 Californians being released on Wednesday, July 21, finds only one-in-five Californians believe passage of Proposition 8 is a “good thing” for the state. The results are being released as California voters await U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker’s decision on whether Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution.

The survey is the most comprehensive breakdown by religion of where Californians stand on same sex marriage since Proposition 8 was approved nearly.  The report, which will be released in its entirety at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 in the Crocker Room at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel (251 South Olive Street), examines the role of religion on attitudes about a number of gay and lesbian issues including: marriage, adoption, gay and lesbian people serving in the military, and workplace discrimination.  The report highlights shifting attitudes within the African American community, deep divisions within the Latino community, the influence of clergy on parishioners, and insights about the role religion plays in the Proposition 8 debate. 

The bilingual (Spanish and English) poll was conducted by Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and funded by the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund with additional support provided by the Ford Foundation.  Over a two week period at the end of June, PRRI surveyed 2,801 Californians and additional oversamples of African Americans and Latino Protestants to allow for in-depth analysis of these groups.

What:

Public Religion Research Institute will release new findings from a survey of Californians on support for same sex marriages and a range of other gay and lesbian policy issues.  The PRRI report will include the most comprehensive breakdown of support by religious groups to date and analysis of the impact of religious beliefs on issue support.

Who:

Robert P. Jones, Ph.D
Founding CEO, Public Religion Research Institute

Daniel Cox
Director of Research, Public Religion Research Institute

Rev. Madison Shockley
Pastor, Pilgrim United Church of Christ (Carlsbad, Calif.)

Diane Winston, Ph.D.
Knight Chair in Media and Religion, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California

When:

Wednesday, July 21, 2010
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. PST

Where:

Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza

The Crocker Room
251 South Olive Street
Los Angeles, California 90012

NOTE FOR REPORTERS OUTSIDE THE LOS ANGELES AREA: If you are a reporter located outside of the Los Angeles area or unable to attend the media conference in person, but interested in covering the release of the polling data, please dial:
1-800-895-0231
ID:  Public Religion Research Institute / Proposition 8

Public Religion Research Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan, independent research and education organization specializing in work at the intersection of religion, values, and public life.

-End-

MEDIA ADVISORY

New Polls Highlight Religious Activists in the 2008 Election and Beyond

Leading Researchers and Commentators Discuss Findings of First-Ever Surveys Comparing Progressive and Conservative Religious Activists at National Press Club on Tuesday, September 15

Leading researchers on religion and politics, Dr. John C. Green and Dr. Robert P. Jones, will be joined by prominent public intellectuals E.J. Dionne and Michael Cromartie at a press conference at the National Press Club at 1 p.m. on Tuesday September 15 to discuss the results of two new national polls of progressive and conservative religious activists.

The 2008 presidential election saw energetic involvement by both progressive and conservative religious activists, groups whose continued political engagement is evident in the debates over current issues such as health care, climate change, and gay and lesbian rights.  These new surveys provide first-ever comparative portraits of two groups of highly religious, politically engaged activists who are often rivals in national politics and opponents on key issues of the day. Analysis will include demographics, civic engagement, general attitudes, and positions on major public policy issues.   Questions will be taken from members of the press and public following presentations.

The Religious Activists Surveys were conducted by the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics in partnership with Public Religion Research.

WHAT: Press conference and discussion of new polling on religious activists

WHO:

· Dr. John C. Green, Director, Bliss Institute of Applied Politics, University of Akron

· Dr. Robert P. Jones, President, Public Religion Research

· E.J. Dionne, Washington Post columnist and Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

· Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics and Public Policy Center

WHEN: Tuesday, September 15, 1:00 p.m.

WHERE: National Press Club Murrow Room

529 14th Street, NW 13th Floor Washington, DC 20045

For more information or to RSVP, please contact Peter Montgomery at 202-744-0941 or pmontgomery@publicreligion.org.