"Who's that guy in the funny hat?"
Posted on 04/07/2005 7:35:59 AM PDT by Hugenot
While the liberal media has always criticized the late Pope John Paul II’s "conservative" views on abortion, contraception, gay marriage, and other pressing moral issues of our time, analysts are now pointing to the Pope’s moral influence in American politics.
Trends indicate that millions of Catholics have changed their party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, largely influenced by the Pope's teaching on the "Culture of Life."
"Pope John Paul had a very important indirect effect in moving traditional Catholics who regularly attend Mass toward the Republicans over the years of his papacy," John Green, a political scientist at the University of Akron told Reuters.
Green, who studies religion in U.S. politics, said that the Pope “helped energize the more traditional parts of the Catholic community who believed the abortion issue should be their top priority.”
“There's no question that Catholics are voting more Republican now than in past elections,” he added.
Green’s theory is backed up by polling data, which shows that in 1960 Democrats led Republicans by a margin of 71 - 10. By 2004 that margin was reduced to 44 - 41, in a time which encompassed the 26-year rule of Pope John Paul II. The greatest shifts in these numbers took place in the 1970s and 1980s.
So, as some liberals saw Pope John Paul II as a dividing force on moral issues, there is no question that his influence helped align a significant amount of practicing Catholics with the pro-life party. This was particularly true in 2004, when President Bush outpolled Senator Kerry (a Catholic) among Catholics by a margin of 52 - 47, as several bishops objected to John Kerry's liberal views on social issues.
"A substantial number embraced both the man and his beliefs and moved gradually toward an alliance with evangelical Protestants and the Republican Party based on support for life in all its stages," said Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. "That alliance has become the bedrock of Republican power."
ping
I bet the catholic trend is less than or equal to the general trend towards the GOP. I think it has less to do with the Pope than the simple fact that the FDR catholic democrats are dying off.
Oh Good Lord, I can't wait to hear Howard Dean's comments on this one.
Not that the Republican platform is 'Catholic' or that I agree with all of it, but JPII made the tenets of the faith clear and uncompromising and if you live your faith it dictates your politics.
John Paul II was a great man.
This is going to drive the RINO's crazy.
This article is nonsense. The Rats once tolerated diversity of thought in their ranks. Incrementally, they became more and more doctrinaire. They showed their hand when they refused to let Casey speak at their convention, and have since raised abortion to the status of a political sacrament.
In condemning abortion, JPII was merely following the teachings of his Church, which is a minimal requirement of any Pope. He was doing the same, in his mind, when he condemned the war in Iraq. Did his pronouncements on that issue "create more Democrats"? One can argue about the positive and negative effects of his papacy, but to credit him with recruiting for the Republican party is to ignore much of his teachings.
This is a trend that will now continue, not only among Catholics, but among the majority of Jews as well. Both the Catholic and Jewish faiths believe very strongly in the culture of life. As the Democrat Party continues to embrace the culture of death, both in killing the unborn and and now openly supporting the killing of the infirm, its strong support among Catholics and Jews will diminish to very small numbers. Soon, the Democrat "Death" Party will turn its focus to getting rid of "old & feeble" citizens like myself and others via court ordered death. It is the Democrat Party way to solve the Social Security and Medicare problems. The Democrat Jewish congressmen that vigoriously support the culture of death position will soon be among the ranks of the unemployed. And...it will be Jewish voters that willingly turn them out of office!!! The winds of change are blowing. The culture of life will win out, big time. May Terri Schiavo rest in peace in the house of the Lord along with Pope John II, The Great!!!
Howard will say he hates popes.
I dunno. I see American Jews speak and act conservatively but they still vote Liberal.
"YEAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!!!"
Cool.
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