by Katie Fretland
More Americans now believe that religious institutions should stay out of politics, after a decade of support for church involvement in social and political issues, according to a new national study.
The Pew Research Center finds that 52 percent of the general public and 50 percent of conservatives believe that churches and houses of worship should keep out of politics. In 2004, when President Bush won the presidential election, just 30 percent of conservatives reported that religious institutions should leave the political conversation.
"The poll ... suggests that frustration and disillusionment among social conservatives may be a part of the reason why a greater number now think that religious institutions should keep out of politics," according to Pew's report on the study.
"The greatest increases since 2004 in the view that churches and other houses of worship should not express themselves on political matters have occurred among less educated Republicans and people who say that social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage will be important to their vote."
The survey also found a small increase (40 to 46 percent) since 2004 in respondents who report that they are uncomfortable hearing how religious a politician is. However, Republicans continue to show support for expressions of religious faith and prayer by politicians, Pew reports.
Key issues for religious voters this year are the economy and energy, while abortion and gay marriage have dropped in importance, according to the survey.
Presumptive GOP nominee John McCain has similar amounts of support from evangelical and conservative Christians as President Bush did before the 2004 election, but the support is not as enthusiastic. McCain enjoys a 28 percent rate of strong support from white evangelicals, while Bush had a 57 percent rate of strong support from that bloc. A strong majority of black Protestants (88 percent) support presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, while white Catholics are divided between the Illinois senator and McCain.
The results of the survey are based on telephone interviews with 2,905 adults from July 31-Aug. 10 with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. The results include interviews with 2,414 registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
Read the full study on religion and politics at www.people-press.org.
Posted by Katie Fretland on August 22, 2008 1:30 PM