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Obama won Catholic vote, regular churchgoers chose Romney
Catholic Culture ^ | November 7, 2012 | Diogenes

Posted on 11/07/2012 3:27:11 PM PST by NYer

President Barack Obama won a slim majority of votes from self-identified Catholics, according to exit polls conduct by CNN.

The polls shows that 50% of voters who identified themselves as Catholics voted for Obama, and 48% for Republican nominee Mitt Romney. The CNN poll did not distinguish between active and lapsed Catholics.

Protestant voters swung heavily toward Romney, the CNN polls showed, with 57% choosing the Republican and only 42% voting to re-elect Obama. The initial reports on the CNN exit polls did not distinguish among the different Protestant denominations.

Among voters who said they had no religious affiliation, Obama was the overwhelming favorite, with a commanding 70-26% edge.

The CNN exit polls showed a clear preference for Romney (59- 39%) among voters who attended church services weekly, and an even more pronounced tilt toward Obama (62-34%) among those who never attended services.


TOPICS: Current Events; Mainline Protestant; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS: catholicvote; christianvote; election; obama; religiousleft; romney; romney2012
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To: skully
"If those numbers were reversed; Romney probably wins."

Not even close. Obama won by 2.5 million votes. There would have had to be over 125 million voting Catholics for it to have made a difference. That is more than the total number of votes cast. The actual number of Catholic voters was probably less than 25 million.

21 posted on 11/07/2012 4:59:55 PM PST by Natural Law (Jesus did not leave us a Bible, He left us a Church.)
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To: Gamecock

The Catholic lady next door voted dem, as usual, because dems are *for the poor*.

And she was telling me how all her friends voted dem as well, because of all the handouts, all the entitlements that the government just hands out, national healthcare being the biggie.


22 posted on 11/07/2012 5:02:24 PM PST by metmom (For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore & do not submit again to a yoke of slavery)
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To: Natural Law

Depends on the states they’re in. If enough Catholics in certain states didn’t vote dem, it could very well have swung the election because of the electoral college.

NYS comes to mind, with it’s HUGE Catholic population.

Nice try, but that boat don’t float.


23 posted on 11/07/2012 5:04:32 PM PST by metmom (For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore & do not submit again to a yoke of slavery)
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To: NYer; RnMomof7
As I posted to a previous thread, those who were baptized into the Catholic Church but do not follow, much less practice the Catholic faith, still identify themselves as catholics. In so doing, they skew poll numbers.

The actively practicing CATHOLIC old lady next door voted dem, as she has her whole life.

It's disingenuous to pretend that practicing Catholics do not vote dem.

24 posted on 11/07/2012 5:08:48 PM PST by metmom (For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore & do not submit again to a yoke of slavery)
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To: Danette
"I will no longer support the Catholic church until excommunications get handed out."

If you are Catholic you should be aware that excommunication is most often automatic the moment an action for which canon law imposes that penalty (Latae Setentiae). Excommunication is not a punishment, but rather a medicinal penalty intended to invite the person to change behavior or attitude, repent, and return to full communion. Everyone who formally or materially supports a grave evil has been excommunicated, this includes those Catholics who voted for Obama and other pro-abortion candidates.

Peace be with you

25 posted on 11/07/2012 5:09:50 PM PST by Natural Law (Jesus did not leave us a Bible, He left us a Church.)
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To: JudyinCanada

Read post #2.


26 posted on 11/07/2012 5:17:26 PM PST by al_c (http://www.blowoutcongress.com)
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To: metmom
"It's disingenuous to pretend that practicing Catholics do not vote dem."

That is fair, but it is also disingenuous to believe that Catholic teaching is or should be identical to the GOP platform or conform to the secular definition of conservatism, nor should it.

We Catholics have allowed the American political system to effectively divide the Church against itself. Although the Democratic Party has increasingly aligned itself with positions that are in direct conflict with Catholic teaching, the Republican Party does not represent a strong moral alternative. The Republican Party stands only timidly for life and the traditional family while demonizing social justice and the plight of the poorest. On the other hand the Democrat Party preaches social justice and anti-poverty while bathed in the blood of the unborn and benefiting from the demise of the family. It forces every Catholic into a conundrum which has no good answer. It means that if either party wants the Catholic vote they will have to radically alter their platforms and identity.

Peace be with you.

27 posted on 11/07/2012 5:21:37 PM PST by Natural Law (Jesus did not leave us a Bible, He left us a Church.)
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To: NYer

Wow, a lot of finger pointers. Face it, Catholics voted as the nation voted. Those who identify themselves Catholic, but don’t attend Mass, etc. shouldn’t count.

The heart of the matter is simple. We are living in a time of moral decay, egoism, and a general lack of personal accountability.

Instead of pointing fingers at the Church, we should recognize the roll each of us plays in spreading the Gospel. Preach the Gospel everyday, use words if you must.

**Flame Alert*** Perhaps much of this current decline can be traced to acceptance of contraception, both by the state and mainline Protestant churches. The Episcopalians, in the 1930 Lambeth Conference (http://www.lambethconference.org/resolutions/1930/1930-15.cfm) were the first to allow it.

What we continue to see is the separation of procreation from marriage. We have lost the beauty of our participation in the Divine plan of life. When we focus on our own desires and use barriers to fertility, we create a barrier between us and God.

How quickly we have gone from condoms to abortion. How fully selfish we have become in putting ourselves first.

We are not living our physical and spiritual lives in accordance to Divine law and are now reaping the reward.

May we focus on repentance, humility, and stand as witnesses to the Truth.


28 posted on 11/07/2012 5:26:17 PM PST by SpirituTuo
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To: Natural Law

Well said.


29 posted on 11/07/2012 5:27:47 PM PST by SpirituTuo
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To: SpirituTuo
Catholics voted as the nation voted

Unfortunately, people of faith in this country are virtually indistinguishable from the rest of society: the divorce rate is nearly identical, the crime rate is similar, drunkeness and drug use are similar, the incidence of loan defaults is almost the same, etc.

So, for one to say they are a Catholic or Christian has almost no meaning.

THAT is the reason 0bama won and that is why we are facing God's judgement.

30 posted on 11/07/2012 5:41:14 PM PST by jda ("Righteousness exalts a nation . . .")
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To: kinsman redeemer

are you Catholic?

What Catholic church do you to that sells stuff in vestibule?


31 posted on 11/07/2012 6:38:48 PM PST by Not gonna take it anymore (If Obama were twice as smart as he is, he would be a wit)
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To: metmom
"Nice try, but that boat don’t float."

Like the old saying goes; figures don't lie, but liars can figure. Let's get beyond the speculative hate opportunity and do the math. Obama won New York by 1.6 million votes, that is three times the difference between the number of Catholics that voted for Obama and those that voted for Romney. So it is pretty safe to say that the elderly lady next door isn't the reason Obama got reelected.

Peace be with you.

32 posted on 11/07/2012 7:06:47 PM PST by Natural Law (Jesus did not leave us a Bible, He left us a Church.)
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To: NYer

Baptized Catholic, always Catholic.

Or so we’ve been told here on FR over and over again.


33 posted on 11/07/2012 9:20:45 PM PST by bonfire
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To: metmom

My mother has the same RC friends who all vote Dem. YMCA buddies in NE Ohio where the Catholic Dems predominately work/worked for unions. The unions ALWAYS trump religion. And yes, they all are practicing Catholics.


34 posted on 11/07/2012 9:31:10 PM PST by bonfire
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To: metmom

My mother has the same RC friends who all vote Dem. YMCA buddies in NE Ohio where the Catholic Dems predominately work/worked for unions. The unions ALWAYS trump religion. And yes, they all are practicing Catholics.


35 posted on 11/07/2012 9:31:20 PM PST by bonfire
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To: Natural Law; Danette
Everyone who formally or materially supports a grave evil has been excommunicated, this includes those Catholics who voted for Obama and other pro-abortion candidates.

But nobody tells them they are...they are just supposed to "know" it? Tell me again what earthly good that does.

36 posted on 11/07/2012 10:26:47 PM PST by boatbums (God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.)
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To: boatbums
"Tell me again what earthly good that does."<\i>

It's not about earthly good.

Now tell me how you reconcile the opposing notions that Catholics are told what to think under penalty of damnation while complaining about a lack of punitive procedures and doctrinal discipline.

37 posted on 11/07/2012 10:44:47 PM PST by Natural Law (Jesus did not leave us a Bible, He left us a Church.)
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To: Natural Law; Danette
the Republican Party does not represent a strong moral alternative. The Republican Party stands only timidly for life and the traditional family while demonizing social justice and the plight of the poorest.

I disagree. What you are saying is the standard party line propaganda of the Liberals against the Republicans and it obviously works if 50+% of Catholics vote for them.

The GOP has a strong pro-life plank in the platform versus the DNC which is strongly pro-abortion. They strongly favor traditional marriage and family values while the Dems want to make homosexual marriage the law of the land - hardly what I would call "timidity" on the GOP's part. And let's not forget that it was the DNC this year at that convention that strongly objected to the word "God" even being mentioned in their platform! As far as "social justice" let's not forget that it was the Republican party that championed antislavery measures and the Civil Rights Act - something conveniently forgotten by those who have been brainwashed into thinking ONLY the Democrats "care" about minorities and the poor. Welfare reform was a good thing to happen in this country because it sought to phase out the generational dependency on the government for life's basic needs instead of personal responsibility - something Scripture heartily condones.

I do not see this "conundrum" you speak of for Catholics. Where ALL Christians should look is to how the Bible tells us to treat our neighbors and that entails each of us looking our for one another, not giving the sole responsibility to government to do it for us. There will never be a platform of a secular party that meets the requirements of singular religious dictates. We must look to those that are closest to our values and ensure those we send to serve share those values. At this time, I think the GOP far outshines the DNC on nearly every point.

38 posted on 11/07/2012 11:02:42 PM PST by boatbums (God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.)
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To: jda
You’re right! We have a lot of Christians in name only walking around this country that are, in reality, functional atheists.
39 posted on 11/07/2012 11:06:57 PM PST by boatbums (God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.)
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To: montanajoe
Yep indeed. Since no one has supplied the answer, I'll post the question explicitly. Has anyone seen cross tabs on the Catholic vote?

This isn't just a question of liberal vs. conservative Catholics. It's also a question of observant vs. lapsed Catholics and cross cutting demographics. For starters, we know that Romney got a substantial majority of regular churchgoers, so I would wager that he got a majority of the Catholics who are actually in the pews. Obama got a topheavy majority of those who rarely or never attend church, so the CINOs presumably went dem, along with a lot of the C&E Christians and liberal Jews whose real god is leftism.

It would be interesting to see how the Catholic vote split by age. Older Catholics, like older voters in all demographics, probably pulled the lever out of habit. Middle aged, churchgoing Catholics are the ones who have moved right in recent elections. The young people are the future; how did the next generation of Catholics split? As for the hispanics, I would wager again that Romney got a solid majority of the non-hispanic Catholic vote.

So has anyone seen the numbers?

40 posted on 11/08/2012 3:00:02 AM PST by sphinx
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