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Beyond the God Gap: A New Roadmap for Reaching Religious Americans on Public Policy Issues
THIRD WAY, PUBLIC RELIGION RESEARCH GET “BEYOND THE GOD GAP”
NEW RESOURCE OFFERS INSIGHT, GUIDANCE FOR UNDERSTANDING NEW RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE
The full Beyond the God Gap report is available here.
The press release announcing this new resource is available here.
Seeking to overcome religious stereotypes that hinder political dialogue, two organizations known for their groundbreaking work on religion and public policy issues have jointly released Beyond the God Gap, a new roadmap for this often bewildering terrain. Based on extensive research and analysis of religious groups’ theology and culture, the report highlights several important patterns in the shifting religious landscape. The report offers surprising and fresh insights into the beliefs and values underlying attitudes toward politics and cultural and domestic policy issues among white evangelical Protestants, white Mainline Protestants, African American Protestants, and Roman Catholics (Latino and non-Latino), which together account for about three-quarters of the U.S. population.
The report found that majorities of four major religious groups favor laws protecting gay and lesbian people from job discrimination, and favor allowing gay and lesbian people to serve openly in the military. Majorities of mainline Protestants and Catholics support some form of legal relationship recognition (either same-sex marriage or civil unions), as do white evangelicals under the age of 35. The report also found that by a margin of approximately 2-to-1, Americans across the religious landscape support a comprehensive approach to immigration reform over enforcement alone.
The report was jointly released today by Third Way, a moderate think tank, and by Public Religion Research (PRR), an independent research firm specializing in work at the intersection of religion, values, and public life. [Note: Public Religion Research, LLC is the sister organization of Public Religion Research Institute, Inc.] “The polarization of society, from the media we watch to the political debates we hear, has contributed to a sense that there are yawning chasms between religious and non-religious Americans, and even between different groups of religious Americans. But that sense of polarization often has more to do with stereotypes than with profound, unbridgeable differences,” said the authors. “We hope this report contributes to civil conversations on important policy issues.”
Highlights drawn from the 50-page report:
On White Evangelicals:
· White evangelicals are not a monolithic group marching in lockstep with the Christian Right.
· Younger white evangelicals are less likely to identify as conservative and are more supportive of relationship recognition for gay and lesbian couples, with a majority (52%) supporting either civil unions or marriage for gay and lesbian couples.
· White evangelicals’ dual beliefs that they are both part of mainstream society and a persecuted minority group are reflected in two competing postures: a defensive desire to protect threatened values and a more open posture seeking broader social reform.
On White Mainline Protestants:
· Mainline Protestants have moved from a bedrock of the right to a swing constituency.
· Mainline Protestants are the religious group most supportive of abortion rights and legal protections for gay and lesbian people; they are also strong supporters of comprehensive immigration reform.
· Mainline Protestants, for now, vote more conservatively than their views might suggest, supporting McCain over Obama 55% to 44%.
On African American Protestants
· African Americans break the stereotype that high levels of religiosity are always correlated with conservatism and identification with the Republican Party.
· Two competing theological currents are flowing within Black denominations, congregations, and individualsthat affect positions on culture issues: the historic accent on a “social gospel” that emphasizes communal religiosity, political engagement, and a public role of the church in addressing social and economic injustice; and a “prosperity gospel,” which emphasizes individual financial security, family, and personal fulfillment.
· African Americans have been politically aligned with the Democratic Party since the New Deal, but there is a 20-point gap between African Americans over 65 and those under 30 who identify with the Democratic Party (77% to 57%).
On Roman Catholics
· Two major social dynamics affect Catholicism in America. One is attrition of U.S.-born Catholics (approximately 1-in-10 Americans are former Catholics) and the other is immigration among Latino Catholics. While 29% of American Catholics overall are now Latino, among Catholics under 30, nearly equal numbers are Latino (45%) as non-Latino whites (47%).
· The conservative stance of the hierarchy should not be mistaken for the stand of rank-and-file Catholics, whose views generally reflect, or are sometimes more progressive than, the public.
· There are two competing theological currents in American Catholic life, one based on an “ethic of life” that emphasizes individual morality, family and the sanctity of life, and one based on “Catholic Social Teaching,” which upholds the idea of the common good. The former has built bridges between conservative Catholics and evangelical Protestants on abortion and gay rights issues, while the social teaching current has provided strong support for the labor movement and the rights and dignity of immigrants.