On June 15, Public Religion Research Institute CEO Robert P. Jones participated in a panel at the Brookings Institution on immigration reform and religious activism. The panel, which was hosted by E. J. Dionne and Bill Galston, included Jim Wallis, President of Sojourners, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Kevin Appleby with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Episcopal Bishop Katharine Jefferts Shori, Dr. David Leal of University of Texas and Mark Lopez, Associate Director of the Pew Hispanic Center.

Jones presented the findings from PRRI’s national survey on Religion, Values and Immigration Reform.

“Americans across religious groups support a comprehensive approach to immigration reform by a 2 to 1 margin. There is also near consensus on important values that should underlie immigration reform: the values of securing the border, but also values of keeping families together, the Golden Rule, and protecting the dignity of every human being.”

Jones also spoke about the lower public support found in the survey for the biblical value of “Welcoming the stranger”, which surprised many of the panelists.

“We included this measure because as we looked out at the landscape of what arguments people were using, this was one that we heard all the time. “Welcoming the stranger” comes right out of the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament. I think the challenge with it is, absent a biblical literacy that makes it ring in a certain way in one’s mind, we have the competing frame of things that we tell our children, right? “Don’t talk to… strangers”. And I think it’s this competing frame without high biblical literacy to trump it that makes it a problematic message for the general population.”

Jones also concluded the event by talking about the support for values in the PRRI survey in the context of the recent Arizona immigration law:

In a recent New York Times article, one of the people they interviewed called the Arizona law “a necessary evil….” But our polling shows that what Americans really want from immigration reform is not a choice that’s necessary and evil, but a choice that’s necessary and good and right, that leads to upholding the best of American values.

Audio of all speakers, presentation materials, and a full transcript for the event can be found here.

Recent polling finds evangelical leaders’ recent support for reform has strong backing in the pews

Full religion, values, and immigration poll report and topline questionnaire available here.

(WASHINGTON, DC) Evangelical leaders’ recent show of support for comprehensive immigration reform has strong backing from white evangelical Americans, according to March 2010 national poll on religion, values, and immigration reform.  The poll was sponsored by the Ford Foundation and conducted by Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan, independent research organization.

“American evangelicals are strongly in favor of comprehensive immigration reform,” said Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO of PRRI.  “Pro-reform evangelical leaders have powerful support from people in the pews.  Our survey refutes suggestions by some critics that pro-reform leaders are out of sync with their congregants.”

The PRRI poll shows that while white evangelicals overwhelmingly support a practical approach to reform that includes not only stronger border and workplace enforcement, but also an earned path to citizenship for immigrants now in the country illegally.  When asked to choose between a comprehensive approach to immigration reform that includes an earned path to citizenship over alternative approaches that emphasize enforcement only, evangelicals choose the comprehensive approach by approximately a two-to-one margin (61% vs. 30%).

In fact, nine-in-ten white evangelicals favor an earned path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are already in the country, with fully two-thirds saying they strongly favor it.   And 83% of white evangelicals - and a nearly identical number (84%) of Americans generally - say that the American economy would benefit if current illegal immigrants became taxpaying citizens.   A majority (56%) of white evangelicals, like most Americans, think the current immigration system is either mostly or completely broken.

Evangelicals are also comfortable with their leaders speaking out on the issue.  White evangelicals say they are very or somewhat comfortable with clergy speaking out about immigration in a local community meeting (78%), in the local media (76%), in adult education classes (74%), in the congregational newsletter or website (58%), and from the pulpit (54%).

Among white evangelicals, this strong support for comprehensive immigration reform coexists with concerns about immigration. For example, evangelicals are more likely than Americans overall to register concerns about the impact of immigrants on the country. A majority (54%) of evangelicals say immigrants are a burden on the country because they take American jobs, housing, and healthcare, compared to 31% who say immigrants strengthen the country because of their hard work and talents.  Americans overall are nearly evenly divided on this question (45% to 43%). It is notable that the number of evangelicals saying immigrants are a burden has dropped 10 percentage points since the question was asked on a Pew Research Center poll in 2006.

“The fact that evangelicals have concerns about the impact of illegal immigration, however, doesn’t mean they don’t support comprehensive reform,” noted Jones.  “They believe the system is broken, that reform should be guided by deeply held values, and that comprehensive reform is the way to fix it.”

Like other religious groups in the country and the general population, evangelicals say four values are very or extremely important as guides for immigration reform policy: enforcing the rule of law and promoting national security (89%), ensuring fairness to taxpayers (86%), protecting the dignity of every person (81%), and keeping families together (79%). White evangelicals are somewhat more likely to say that the biblical value of welcoming the stranger is an important moral guide than other religious groups (65% vs. 53% of the general public).

The full survey report is available at www.publicreligion.org/research/?id=279

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New Poll, Focus Groups: Strong Support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform in Ohio, Arkansas Across Religious Lines

New polling finds increase in optimism following health care reform passage
Full Reports available here.

A national re-contact survey and three state-level reports released today show strong support for immigration reform among residents of Ohio and Arkansas. “Like Americans overall, Ohio and Arkansas residents support a comprehensive approach to immigration reform by approximately a 2-to-1 margin,” said Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute, which conducted the studies. Jones also noted that this strong support persists despite higher anxiety among Ohioans and Arkansans about economic vulnerability and competition with illegal immigrants for jobs. These state-level findings are generally consistent with findings from Public Religion Research Institute’s national survey on religion, values, and immigration reform, which was released in March. The national re-contact survey following up on the survey released last month found a significant increase in satisfaction with the direction of the country at the national and state levels, compared to attitudes prior to the passage of health care reform.

In addition to the state-level poll reports, an analysis of four focus groups among politically moderate white Protestant and Catholic voters in Columbus, Ohio, showed significant differences among Catholic and Protestant participants – with Catholics more strongly connecting to their families’ own immigration experience and holding more sympathetic views toward the challenges facing immigrants today.

Re-contact Survey

PRRI conducted a short re-contact survey March 31-April 5, 2010, with participants of the original national and state surveys on attitudes toward immigrants and immigration reform that were fielded March 5-11, 2010. The purpose of the re-contact survey was to assess whether the passage of comprehensive health care reform on March 21, 2010 had influenced public attitudes about the direction of the country and support for Congress tackling immigration reform this year.

• We found a significant increase in satisfaction with the direction of the country, compared to attitudes prior to the passage of health care reform. While nearly two-thirds (64%) of Americans remain dissatisfied with the direction of the country, we found a significant 9-point increase (from 20% to 29%) in the number of Americans who said they were satisfied with the direction of the country.
• Consistent with previous findings, the public remains evenly divided about whether Congress should tackle immigration reform this year.

State Poll Results

Residents of Ohio and Arkansas are more likely than Americans nationwide to report being in fair or poor shape economically and to have a negative view of the contributions of immigrants. Ohio and Arkansas residents are also more likely than the general public to believe illegal immigrants take jobs that American workers want – a view held by 58% of Arkansas residents and 56% of Ohioans, but only 48% of Americans generally.

In spite of these more negative attitudes, residents of Ohio and Arkansas, like Americans generally, agree on the importance of a set of values—including protecting human dignity and keeping families together—that should guide reform, and residents of both states overwhelmingly support an earned path to citizenship for illegal immigrants:

• Overwhelming majorities of Ohio and Arkansas residents say enforcing the rule of law and protecting national security (87% and 88% respectively), ensuring fairness to taxpayers (80% and 89%), keeping families together (79% and 80%), and protecting the dignity of every person (78% and 81%) are very or extremely important values that should guide immigration reform.
• Nearly 9-in-10 Arkansas and Ohio residents, like Americans overall, support an earned path to citizenship for illegal immigrants (85% Ohio, 87% Arkansas, and 86% America), which is one of the key provisions of comprehensive immigration reform.
• Like Americans generally, Ohio residents favor comprehensive immigration reform over more limited enforcement-oriented alternatives by approximately 2-to-1, and Arkansas residents favor comprehensive reform by nearly the same margin. When asked to choose between a description of comprehensive reform and an argument that illegal immigrants should not be rewarded with amnesty or taxpayer-funded social services, 66% of Ohioans choose comprehensive reform with an earned path to citizenship, compared to 25% who embrace the opposing position. Fifty-seven percent of Arkansans choose comprehensive reform with an earned path to citizenship, compared to 30% who embrace the opposing position.

The Ohio and Arkansas survey reports also examine differences in attitudes toward immigration and approaches to immigration reform across lines of religion, gender, income, and educational attainment.

Catholic-Protestant Focus Groups: Ellis Island vs. Home Depot

The Ohio focus groups among white moderate voters demonstrated significant differences in attitudes toward immigration between Catholics, whose initial impressions were mostly positive and grounded in their own families’ immigration stories, and Protestants, whose initial impressions of immigrants were more likely to be negative and associated with images like day laborers looking for work at a Home Depot parking lot. Other findings from the focus group report:

• Lack of knowledge and the power of stories. Participants across all groups were quick to say that they believed the current immigration system was broken, but they had little concrete knowledge of how it was broken. When participants heard stories about hardships of becoming a citizen, ideas shifted in a more supportive direction.
• Openness to clergy leadership in the appropriate setting. Nearly all participants were wary of hearing about a political issue such as immigration reform from the pulpit, but they were open to clergy leadership in discussion or informational settings. Very few had heard anything about immigration reform at church, and nearly all were unaware of any official position of their denomination on the issue.
• Concerns about commitment of contemporary immigrants to the U.S. Moderate religious voters are not fully convinced that, given the opportunity, illegal immigrants would fully invest in a path to citizenship and “put out their whole being” into being here. These participants see the willingness to learn English both as an important policy point and as a proxy of immigrants’ commitment to investing in the U.S.

About the Survey and Focus Groups

PRRI’s nationwide telephone survey of 1,201 Americans (1,047 voters), along with two state surveys of Ohio (n=402) and Arkansas (n=402) residents, was conducted March 5–11, 2010. PRRI also conducted a brief re-contact survey March 31-April 5, 2010, with participants of the original national and state surveys. The focus group report analyzes four focus groups held in the greater Columbus, Ohio, area on January 28, 2010, among politically moderate white Christian voters who attend religious services at least once or twice per month. Two groups were comprised of self-identified Protestants, and two groups were comprised of self-identified Catholics. The study was sponsored by the Ford Foundation.

Released: March 23, 2010                                  Contact: Dr. Robert P. Jones, 240-638-6403
Updated:  April 14, 2010                                                  rjones@publicreligion.org

New National Poll: People of Faith Support Immigration Reform,
Approve of Clergy Speaking Out

Large Majorities of Major Religious Groups Support Opportunity for Citizenship
Full report and topline questionnaire available here.

A new survey by Public Religion Research Institute finds broad support across religious groups for a comprehensive approach to immigration reform and strong approval for clergy speaking out on the issue. As immigration reform efforts resume around the country, the survey provides timely data about American attitudes on the issue and the influence of religion and values. The nationwide telephone survey of 1,201 Americans (1,047 voters), along with two state surveys of Ohio (n=402) and Arkansas (n=402) residents, was conducted March 5-11, 2010. The study was sponsored by the Ford Foundation.

“By a 2-to-1 margin, Americans strongly support a comprehensive approach to immigration reform, and they want a solution that reflects strongly held values,” said Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute.  “More than 8-in-10 Americans-including overwhelming majorities of white mainline Protestants, Catholics, and white evangelicals-believe strongly that immigration reform should be guided by the values of protecting the dignity of every person and keeping families together as well as by such values as promoting national security and ensuring fairness to taxpayers.”

The survey identified a significant partisan values gap related to immigration policy. There is general agreement among Democrats, Independents, and Republicans on values such as promoting national security, securing the border, and ensuring fairness to taxpayers.  On the other hand, Democrats rated cultural-religious values-such as protecting the dignity of every person, keeping families together, the Golden Rule, and the biblical value of welcoming the stranger-higher than Republicans by double digits.

Jones also said the survey refutes recent claims that religious leaders’ support for comprehensive immigration reform does not reflect the values of people in the pews.  Nearly nine-in-ten Americans and respondents in every major religious tradition-including white evangelicals, white mainline Protestants, and Catholics-favor a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, one of the key provisions of a comprehensive approach to reform.  And by a two-to-one margin, Americans overall and from across the religious landscape favor a comprehensive approach over more limited approaches focused on enforcement alone.

“On this issue, the public is out ahead of the politicians,” said Rev. Rich Nathan, pastor of the 10,000-member Vineyard Church in Columbus, Ohio.  “Our politicians need to exert some focused leadership; they’ll find they have the support if they exert that leadership.”

“These findings highlight the importance of the religious community, which shares a common set of values on this issue,” said Katie Paris of Faith in Public Life, one of several leaders from the religious community who commented on the survey findings. “The faith community is uniquely positioned to break down partisan barriers on immigration reform by emphasizing these shared values. This is critical in the weeks and months ahead as we work to fix our broken immigration system with support from both political parties.”

Additionally, the survey shows that Americans who attend religious services regularly are comfortable with clergy speaking out about the issue of immigration. The survey found that while only about one-fourth of regular worship attenders report hearing about immigration reform at their place of worship, strong majorities would be comfortable hearing their clergy address the issue in church venues such as from the pulpit, as well as in public venues such as community meetings and the media.

“I am encouraged that the poll shows people want immigration reform that is guided by religious values such as the dignity of the human person, keeping families together, and the Golden Rule — values the Bishops and the Catholic Church have long held as central on this issue,” said Father Tom Reese, Senior Fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. “It is also encouraging to see that a majority of people support their clergy speaking out on immigration reform.”

The survey found that Americans are nearly equally divided over whether immigrants today strengthen the country or are a burden, but more than 8-in-10 said they completely (42%) or mostly (42%) agree that the American economy would benefit if current illegal immigrants became taxpaying citizens.  The survey also found that deportation was broadly unpopular as a solution. A majority (56%) of the public disagree that we “should make a serious effort to deport all illegal immigrants back to their home countries.”  While white evangelicals are more likely to call current immigrants a burden on the country, 83% of them, nearly the same percentage as Americans overall, agree that the economy would benefit if current illegal immigrants became taxpaying citizens.

Among the survey’s findings:

• A majority (56%) of Americans say the immigration system is completely or largely broken. Only 7% say the system is generally working, and about one-third (34%) say the system is working but with some major problems.
• At least 8-in-10 Americans rate four values as very or extremely important guides to immigration reform: enforcing the rule of law and promoting national security (88%), ensuring fairness to taxpayers (84%), protecting the dignity of every person (82%), and keeping families together (80%). There are few significant differences among religious groups; for example, white evangelicals are just as likely as white Mainline Protestants, Catholics and the unaffiliated to say protecting the dignity of every person is a very or extremely important value.
• A strong majority (71%) also say following the Golden Rule-”providing immigrants the same opportunity that I would want if my family were immigrating to the U.S.”- is a very or extremely important value.
• Nearly 9-in-10 (86%) Americans favor a policy that includes one of the key provisions of comprehensive immigration reform-that illegal immigrants be required to register with the government, work, pay taxes, and learn English before having the opportunity to apply for citizenship. Support remains strong across all religious traditions. When asked to choose between a description of comprehensive immigration reform and typical opposing arguments, Americans still prefer a comprehensive approach by a margin of nearly 2-to-1.
• There is general agreement across political lines about the importance of the values of enforcing the rule of law/promoting national security, and ensuring fairness to taxpayers, with more than 8-in-10 Americans rating these as extremely or very important.
• However, by double-digit margins, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to rate cultural-religious values as important for immigration reform:
  • For Democrats, the top two most important values that should guide immigration reform are protecting the dignity of every person and keeping families together. Democrats rate these values significantly higher than Republicans (88% vs. 74%, and 88% vs. 71% extremely/very important respectively).
  • Democrats are also significantly more likely than Republicans to rate religious values such as following the Golden Rule and welcoming the stranger as very or extremely important for immigration reform (75% vs. 65%, and 60% vs. 45% respectively).
• A majority of Americans who attend religious services regularly (at least once or twice per month) say they would be comfortable with clergy speaking out from the pulpit, and 6-in-10 say they would be comfortable with clergy discussing the issue in their congregation’s newsletter or website. Larger majorities would be comfortable with clergy talking about the issue in an adult education session (74%), at a local community meeting (77%) or in the local media (75%).

Update: Our initial March 23 release of the data described the overall survey sample as being drawn from registered voters when it should have been identified as a sample from the general population.  We have issued an updated version of the topline questionnaire and all related documents that show results for both the general population and a subset of voters. The survey found no significant differences between the general public and voters on measures of support for immigration reform.

Re-contact Survey Update:

PRRI conducted a short re-contact survey March 31-April 5, 2010, with participants of the original national and state surveys that were fielded March 5-11, 2010. The purpose of the re-contact survey was to assess whether the passage of comprehensive health care reform on March 21, 2010, which occurred after the original survey field dates, had influenced public attitudes about the direction of the country or specifically about support for Congress tackling immigration reform this year.

• We found no shift in support for Congress tackling immigration reform this year, with the public remaining evenly divided.
• However, we found a significant increase in satisfaction with the direction of the country, compared to attitudes prior to the passage of health care reform. While nearly two-thirds (64%) of Americans remain dissatisfied with the direction of the country, we found a significant 9-point increase (from 20% to 29%) in the number of Americans who said they were satisfied with the direction of the country.
• The increase in satisfaction with the direction of the country was driven primarily by a large increase in satisfaction among Democrats. Satisfaction increased 21 points among Democrats from only one-third (33%) to a majority (54%), compared to an increase of 6 points among Independents (15% to 21%) and only 2 points among Republicans (9% to 11%).

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