Posted on 09/30/2019 7:54:37 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Americans with evangelical beliefs are more likely to care politically about healthcare and economic issues than they are about issues typically associated with evangelical political engagement such as religious liberty and abortion, a new survey found.
“Our respondents surprised us by how little they appeared to care about stereotypically evangelical causes,” Georgetown University professor Paul Miller wrote in a white paper analyzing the survey’s findings published by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
LifeWay Research released a new poll this month sponsored by the ERLC exploring the views of American evangelicals on politics, social civility, media consumption and their engagement with those who have opposing political ideas.
The survey was conducted last November and included responses from 1,317 evangelical respondents who were screened to distinguish between respondents with evangelical beliefs (933) and respondents who self-identified as evangelical Christians (1,001).
The respondents were specifically asked to identify three public policy concerns that “are most important to you.”
The top answer for both self-identified evangelicals and respondents with evangelical beliefs was “healthcare” (51 percent). The second-most common answer (49 percent for self-identified and 46 percent of those with evangelical beliefs) was “the economy.”
Forty percent of those with evangelical beliefs identified “national security,” while 43 percent of self-identified evangelicals did the same. Forty-one percent of self-identified evangelicals identified “immigration” as an issue of importance to them, while 39 percent of respondents with evangelical beliefs said the same.
Just 33 percent of both self-identified evangelicals and respondents with evangelical beliefs highlighted “religious liberty” as an issue of importance for them.
Twenty-nine percent of evangelicals by beliefs highlighted “abortion” as an issue of importance to them while 28 percent of self-identified evangelicals said the same.
Only four percent of both sets of respondents identified “LGBT rights” as a political issue that is important to them.
The finding may come as a bit of surprise considering prominent conservative evangelical leaders are regularly discussed in the media for their stances on sexuality and abortion.
The survey indicates that evangelicals take into account several issues thinking about who they vote for.
Less than 10 percent of respondents surveyed said their support for a political candidate “depends primarily on one issue.” Eight out of 10 respondents surveyed said their support depends on “several issues.”
Despite most saying that their support depends on “several issues,” respondents with evangelical beliefs were more likely (52 percent to 48 percent) to “agree” that they “will only support a candidate who wants to make abortion illegal.”
The survey also suggests that evangelicals care less about other causes thought to be issues of importance for followers of Christ who are taught scripturally to feed the hungry and clothe the poor.
Twenty percent of self-identified evangelicals identified “providing for the needy” as an issue of political importance for them while 22 percent of respondents with evangelical beliefs said the same.
Only 18 percent of self-identified evangelicals identified “addressing racial division” as an issue of importance to them while 21 percent of evangelicals by belief said the same.
Miller stressed in his white paper that when broken down by racial and ethnic fault lines, the survey shows that white evangelicals tend to have a different “set of political priorities” than nonwhite evangelicals do.
“White evangelicals are far more likely to list abortion, religious liberty, national security, or immigration as a top concern than African American evangelicals or black Protestants,” Miller added.
“African Americans are more likely to list helping the needy, healthcare, and racial injustice. Evangelicals who attend church most frequently are least likely to say that helping the needy is a top concern. At 11 percent, white evangelicals are the least likely to say racial injustice is a top concern.”
Evangelicals have increasingly been associated in the media with the presidency of Donald Trump and social conservative principles. However, the survey shows that less than half (48 percent) of respondents with evangelical beliefs consider themselves to be Republicans while only 50 percent of self-identified evangelicals considered themselves part of the GOP.
Thirty-one percent of respondents with evangelical beliefs said they were Democrats with 18 percent saying they are Independents. Five percent of respondents with evangelical beliefs said they affiliate with another party or are not sure what party they are affiliated with.
Sixty-two percent of respondents with evangelical beliefs who voted said they voted for Trump in the 2016 presidential election. For self-identified evangelicals who voted, there wasn’t much difference as 64 percent said they voted for Trump.
Meanwhile, 31 percent of respondents with evangelical beliefs who voted said they voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 and 27 percent of self-identified evangelicals said the same.
Among white respondents with evangelical beliefs who voted, 80 percent of said they voted for Trump in 2016 while 76 percent of self-identified white evangelicals who voted said the same.
“The results of this polling project were occasionally encouraging, frequently surprising and in some cases very much indicting,” ERLC President Russell Moore said in a statement. “What this polling clearly shows is that there are forces driving the church apart from one another. That shouldn’t surprise us. But it should convict us.”
The survey has a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points for those respondents with evangelical beliefs and 3.2 percentage point error margin for self-identified evangelicals
That has likely always been the case.
For better or worse elections always turn on bread-and-butter “kitchen table” type issues.
RE: For better or worse elections always turn on bread-and-butter “kitchen table” type issues.
And that’s a huge question mark for those who call themselves Evangelicals.
Jesus said: “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ( Matthew 4:4)
According to polls Hillary was elected President ... It’s all in how you ask the questions...Oddly enough pollsters tend to get the answers liberals want to hear.
I wonder if they controlled for party identification
What evangelicals did they poll? The ones at the lesbian art festival inside the cathedral?
If Religious liberty was at risk it would be at the top...it’s not. Mayor Pete has tried to provide cover for progressives... their pollsters know that. No one is attacking religion as long as religious people MIGHT vote for a demcrat.
If liberal pollsters asked which was of greater concern right now - losing your second amendment rights or going hungry - conservatives would say second amendment rights... BUT if there was a chance of national starvation food would top the list of concerns.
It’s more dishonest liberals doing silly polls to make them feel superior about themselves. Sick litte grifters.
Obamacare made healthcare even more expensive and you have to buy expensive plans
It should have been repealed
Now the dems want to fix the garbage they forced us into.
Healthcare is an issue, no matter if we think it is or not.
The problem is that people actually believe government can fix it. Our side needs to communicate that government is not the answer, it is the problem.
RE: I wonder if they controlled for party identification
The National Association of Evangelicals/LifeWay Research method includes four statements to which respondents must strongly agree to be categorized as evangelical:
* The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.
* It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.
* Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin.
* Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.
Given the above standard for identifying an Evangelical, and given that the Democrats support: abortion until birth, gay marriage, transgenderism, even the removal of God from their party platform, etc., I cannot help but wonder how an Evangelical can even vote Democrat.
But we also can’t deny the fact that healthcare costs have gone up since Obamacare. 20K a year per family is expensive whether you are paying that out of pocket or your employer paying it for you (part of compensation)
Obamacare screwed it up
Got rid of affordable catastrophe plans, for super expensive “everything plans”
Never mind the fact that illegals also rise health care costs as well, but nobody (except our President) would ever mention that
Because they are told Republicans are Satan
They could be democrats for economical reasons as well, welfare, free healthcare, obamaphones, etc
Key here is the phrase “public policy.” Evangelicals might well feel that the govt should not be setting policy in several of these areas, yet consider them important personally. These are conflated in the article. E.g., taking care of the needy is taught in scripture, bit at the personal leve, not as public policy.
RE: They could be democrats for economical reasons as well, welfare, free healthcare, obamaphones, etc
In other words, MATERIAL THINGS ( what the government takes from others to give to you ) is more important than spiritual values?
In what way is that Evangelical? If there is a RINO, aren’t there EINO’s?
Could be
Is being an Evangelical a “club” that you have to qualify for? Or is it something anyone can define themselves as?
So anyone can claim to be a Evangelical on the phone to pollster looking for info.
However, Healthcare being a number one concern since Obamacare did nothing but raise healthcare costs.
I don’t think the poll is bogus though.
Also they could be union members as well, and vote the way the union tells them.
If Banks had had the same power to protect their insanity banks would still be open from 10AM to 3PM with no drive throughs, no ATM’s or any other modernity. And they'd be asking Congress for subsidies to allow the poor to have checking accounts since the poor couldn't come up with the $60 a month to have an account.
Socialism light and well protected. Walmart might break the bonds - they just might be powerful enough.
I was NOT polled.
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