It was The Passion of the Christ(ians) that won it for Bush.
Yes it did. But the biggget swing to Bush this year was among observant urban Catholics. Just look at the how much Bush reduced the 'Rat magings in RI, MA, CT, NY, NJ, and PA. Observant Catholics, particularly the urban ones (who reluctantly stuck with Gore in 2000), are responsible for Bush's 3.5 million-vote popular-vote victory.
Yes...with the various publications, either by the Church or Church related groups, such as the Knights of Columbus, many Catholics who voted for Gore did change to Bush. I know of some...but unfortunately not enough...
Don't forget those Spanish Catholics. They know what's going on.
Catholics, Hispanics, Evangelicals, pro-marriage, pro-life, Blacks, security Moms, Swiftvets, talk-show hosts, bloggers, pro-2nd ammendment.....
All contributed to the Bush win.
None by themselves.
I belong to 5 of those groups.
Which of my convictions or attributes contributed more?
When Catholic pastors cede their parish-administration to American Catholic Church (cafeteria) members--most of whom lean liberal or at least ecumenical, they can't help but introduce moral and intellectual mediocrity which in turn introduces (not to put too fine a point on it) heresy: ecological preservation, TOLERANCE, living wage, universal health care, etc., though lovely objectives, are neither (Church) doctrinal commands nor federal responsibilities. This is pure Democrat (mainly Irish Democrat) spin. For the first time in many decades, Bishops and pastors (not all, but some) have taken their shepherds' role seriously and--probably to the great chagrin of many of their laity--defined Catholic (and for the most part, Christian) moral priorities. Better late than never. And maybe, maybe, the Church will "revert" to the monolith-status Ms. Geraldine denied and become a predictable voting bloc.
In 1960, JFK carried 83% of the Catholic vote.
This year, flip-flop Kerry saw George Bush take the majority of the Catholic vote.
I am a Catholic and I would note have voted for John Kerry even if I was offered a blank check from his sugar mommy.
I think it counted, but it's still not unified enough to predict in the future. The Church bureaucracy, particularly at the lay level, harbors a lot of people who are, frankly, pro-abortion. They may not admit it openly, but they do everything possible to blunt the anti-abortion stance, from using parish pro-life groups to push the minimum wage instead of anti-abortion activities, to actively sabotaging efforts to get information to parishioners. One parish secretary here, for example, simply threw out the bishop's letter about abortion and voting rather than attach it to the bulletin.
You know, there were many things that won this election for Bush and for the good of the US. So many groups can stake a claim for getting those votes which put Bush over that it can't be mistaken: It was the Hand of God moving this election.