Posted on 11/06/2008 6:36:40 AM PST by Alex Murphy
Yesterday, according to the exit polls, between 53 and 54% of American Catholic voters cast their ballots for Barack Obama, despite the Democratic candidate's enthusiastic support for unrestricted legal abortion.
Nationwide, Protestant voters supported John McCain, by a solid 54- 45% margin. But the Catholic vote broke for Obama. Why?
Earlier this week the US Conference of Catholic Bishops released a helpful listing of the 50 American states, with the proportion of population in each state. In 7 states, Catholics make up more than 30% of the population. Obama captured all 7 of those states on Election Day. In 8 states, Catholics account for less than 5% of the population. Seven of those states swung for McCain, and the 8th, North Carolina, is still listed as "too close to call" as I write this analysis.
To be sure, America's Catholic population is heavily concentrated in states that have a liberal political tilt. But is that a coincidence? Are those states hotbeds of liberalism despite the heavy Catholic presence, or because of it?
Yes, Catholics have traditionally leaned toward the Democratic Party for historical reasons. But why have Catholic voters remained doggedly loyal to a party that has come, in the early 21st century, to be wholly allied with the "culture of death" on issues such as abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, and embryonic stem-cell research?
The support that Obama won among Catholic voters is noteworthy because in the last presidential contest, in 2004, President Bush won 52% of the Catholic vote while his opponent John Kerry-- himself a Catholic!-- managed only 46%. Catholic support for the Democratic candidate rose markedly in this campaign, even though the Democratic contender was the most militantly pro-abortion candidate ever to win a major party's presidential nomination.
This trend is all the more remarkable because over the course of the past several weeks, dozens of American bishops issued strong public statements reminding their people of their moral obligation to vote in defense of human life. Those statements varied in candor and in quality, but their overall impact was remarkable. The 2008 campaign produced a seismic change in the attitude of the American hierarchy; the bishops as a group were far more outspoken, far more explicit, than in any previous election.
And still most Catholics voted for Obama. Again: why?
Before answering that question, let me cite one more vitally important piece of polling information: Among Catholic voters who attend Mass weekly, McCain won majority support: 54- 45%. Among those who do not attend weekly Mass, the margin for Obama was an overwhelming 61- 37%. Thus Obama drew his support from inactive Catholics. And unfortunately, most American Catholics are inactive.
In an interview recorded just before Election Day, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver explained that he had decided to take a prominent public stand on the obligations of Catholic voters because the "quieter approach to these things has not been effective." How right he was! He and many other prelates deserve the gratitude of loyal Catholics for their willingness to take a more energetic approach. This year, at last, the American bishops were clear and forthright in their teaching. Yet on Election Day it became evident that millions of American Catholics weren't listening.
Should we be surprised if Catholics ignore directives from the hierarchy? Should we be surprised that Catholics who do not attend Mass regularly-- thereby violating a precept of the Church-- ignore Church teachings on other issues as well? No, this result was predictable.
An entire generation of American Catholics has grown accustomed to dissent from Church teaching, and grown accustomed to seeing their bishops tolerate that dissent. In the 35 years since Roe v. Wade, Catholics have watched their Church leaders handle pro-abortion Catholic politicians with kid gloves, treating their moral treason as a minor annoyance rather than a public scandal. Yes, the bishops routinely denounced abortion; but at the same time they treated the public supporters of taxpayer-funded abortion with jovial deference. Puzzled lay Catholics concluded that the bishops didn't really take the issue too seriously, and the laity in turn stopped taking their bishops seriously. A few dozen statements from brave orthodox bishops in the autumn of 2008-- however clear, however compelling-- were not enough to undo a generation of damage.
Abortion is not an isolated issue. Lackadaisical American Catholics are not ignoring Church leadering on this issue alone, but on the entire range of Catholic teaching. Most Catholics skip Sunday Mass regularly. Most Catholics rarely if ever go to Confession. Most Catholics use contraceptives. Most Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence. Most Catholics no longer accept Church authority on any issue. Why should we be surprised, then, if on Election Day most Catholics ignore Church teachings on their moral obligation to vote in defense of human life?
For most of my life I have lived in Massachusetts, a state whose political culture was once thoroughly dominated by active Catholics. In my book The Faithful Departed: The Collapse of Boston's Catholic Culture I explain how that Catholic culture deteriorated, as the faithful drifted away from the Church, until today the political scene in Massachusetts is dominated not by Catholics but by ex-Catholics, thoroughly hostile to the teachings of the Church.
Are Catholics in other states following the same trend? Will the next presidential election see even strong support for the "culture of death" among voters who identify themselves-- inaccurately-- as believing Catholics? Regrettably, I see the same forces that corrupted Catholicism in my native state now active all across the nation.
To repair the damage, we must recognize that the problem is not restricted to abortion, nor to defense-of-life issues. Indeed it is not, strictly speaking, a political problem. To restore the integrity of the Catholic vote, we must first restore the integrity of the Catholic faith, and rebuild the foundations of a Catholic culture.
That will be my goal-- my crusade-- in coming years. I hope and pray you'll join me.
Catholic Voters were swayed by the “Social Doctrine” of the Democrat Party. They think, like Pelosi, that the Abortion Issue is still “open ended.” They are wrong and should refrain from Eucharist until they’ve seen their Priest in the confessional.
“If we do not protect life, there is no reason to fight for any other cause.”
Somewhere along the line, they convinced themselves that fighting for social justice outweighed fighting for the birth of the people who would need social justice.
They are truly Catholics in Name Only because they do not hold to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
The Didache ( also referred to as The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles ) , the oldest extant manual of church order, dating from the late first or early second century states: “You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.”
The bishops at the Second Vatican Council declared that, as Catholics, we believe what the Church authoritatively teaches on matters of faith and morals, for to hear the voice of the Church on those matters is to hear the voice of Christ himself. ( Lumen Gentium, No. 25; Mysterium Ecclesiae, No. 2 ) Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit guides the Church and protects it from error. We believe that the Roman Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI, is the successor of Peter, the Rock on whom Jesus Christ has built his Church, and is not just another man who is entitled to his opinions on faith. We believe that we are called to trust the Spirit to guide the Church, so we do not pick and choose among her teachings.
Let me recommend you for a Bishopric in our Church!
Religion is no longer thought in schools.
Across the nation catholic schools are closing and churches are closed, parishes merged for a lack of priests.
JFK was the first and only catholic.
If you know or meet twenty catholics today,
ask them what the council of bishops suggested as guidance for ‘followers’.
DUH !!!!! WHO !!!!
Thank you.
Yes - and a VERY SPECIAL THANKS going to the 45% who attend weekly mass and still voted for Obama - sheesh!
The USCCB is also part of the problem. They do very dumb things like equating racism with abortion.
It’s the teaching. Watered down messages in some Catholic Churches offer no hope, and no salvation. Just more confession and forgiveness for daily sinful behavior. It’s the message. If you are taught heaven, hell, and eternal judgment, people tend to get the message
Have we reached a point where inactive Catholics can be called secular Catholics?
Stating it that way implies a cultural identity since actually practicing Catholicism is a counter-cultural state. Our lives revolve around daily, sometimes hourly prayer and values that are antithetical to common culture.
I can’t think of any other way to put it. I do know a few in my own parish who voted for Zero, but they are devout but misguided since they voted the concern for the poor without thinking it through.
Pollsters who lump self-described Catholics who never practice their faith into one demographic are skewing the numbers.
“They love the Democrat Party more than they love Jesus.”
This has got to be among the top ten silliest things said in ‘08.
McCain should have HAMMERED Obama with this issue from day one—instead he focused on being ‘a gentleman’ which you can’t do when the other side doesn’t play by the rules!!
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obama_and_infanticide.html
“Obama, Senate floor, 2001: “Number one, whenever we define a previable fetus as a person that is protected by the equal protection clause or the other elements in the Constitution, what we’re really saying is, in fact, that they are persons that are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a – a child, a nine-month-old – child that was delivered to term. That determination then, essentially, if it was accepted by a court, would forbid abortions to take place. I mean, it – it would essentially bar abortions, because the equal protection clause does not allow somebody to kill a child, and if this is a child, then this would be an antiabortion statute.”
How these people can live with themselves is totally beyond me. I truly believe that demon possession is alive and well in America!!! :*(
“They love the Democrat Party more than they love Jesus.”
This has got to be among the top ten silliest things said in ‘08.
“It’s really not that hard to figure out. They love the Democrat Party more than they love Jesus.”
Correction, they love the Democrat Party more than they love God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and America.
So for the sake of abortion we lost this election and our natipon will be socialist and there will be even more abortions. The majority of voters could care less about abortion as a federal issue and rightfully so. I would greatly support a candidate desiring smaller government, fewer taxes, less regulation, military protection, and greater individual liberty. Let the churches, nonprofits, and non-governmental entities debate thw abortion issue and sway people’s hearts and minds. It has no place in a party platform.
The believer accepts the whole deposit as proposed by the Church; the heretic accepts only such parts of it as commend themselves to his own approval.
The top non-negotiable issue is abortion.
A vote for Obama means you have abandoned your Catholic faith.
But that’s happened already if weekly Mass attendance has become optional.
We must pray for them.
It is time for all Christians that believe and live their faith to come together. How this can be accomplished, I don’t know but it has to happen somehow.
They might be Catholic (or baptist, methodist, presbyterian, etc..), but are they Christian?
A lot of the Catholics I know are in unions and they definitely vote Democrat every time.
their 401K’s. they are wrong blaming the administration, but they believe that it is the cause of their lost money
they will take care of their families FIRST. then worry about the nations moral issues.
There are people out there who were raised Catholic, but like the rest of American society, have become secular, liberals who have been brainwashed by Hollywood morals, the absence of any religion taught in government re-education camps, er, public schools and mainstream media. These people are still identified as Catholics which sways the polls.
If you no longer practice Catholic doctrine in your life, you are not a Catholic. John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Tom Daschle, all these self-proclaimed Catholics, do not practice nor live a life as a Catholic should. They embrace everything that we oppose—abortion, euthanasia, gay marriage, secular education, moral relativism, etc.
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