What Happened to the Catholic Vote?

CHICAGO, Illinois, NOV. 6, 2008 (Zenit.org).- More than half of U.S. Catholics voted Tuesday for a presidential candidate at odds with the Church's stance on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, despite the urging of more than 50 heads of dioceses to support pro-life candidates.

Brian Burch, co-founder and president of the Catholic-based think-tank Fidelis, spoke with ZENIT about the results of the election, and why he thinks a majority of Catholics voted for Democratic candidate Barack Obama, an admitted supportor of abortion rights.

Burch also comments on the success of CatholicVote.com, a voter education effort launched by Fidelis to encourage Catholics to vote for candidates supporting life, faith and family.

The site included a short video, as well as resources to help voters research candidates, statements issued by individual bishops, and an invitation to prayer.

Q: An estimated 54% of Catholics voted for Barack Obama, despite the strong stand of over 50 heads of dioceses against candidates who support abortion. How did Obama successfully win the majority of the Catholic vote?

Burch: The notion of what constitutes the "Catholic vote" is widely debated. While Obama won the Catholic vote overall 54% - 45%, among Catholics who attend mass every week, McCain won 55% - 43%. Clearly the main reason Obama succeeded overall was the fact that Catholic voters echoed the concerns of the rest of the electorate in citing the economy as their top issue.

They concluded that Obama’s economic policies would benefit them more, and ignored the teaching authority of many bishops who explained that concerns about the economy do not justify a vote for a pro-abortion candidate.

Q: Did the strong stance of the episcopate have any noticeable affect on the election? What could the Church have done more of?

Burch: The results of the election seem to indicate that, for the most part, Catholic voters ignored the guidance of their bishops. The results simply do not show any dramatic shift away from the larger trends seen during the past several election cycles.

One area of concern was the document "Faithful Citizenship," which was used by many organizations to improperly justify support for pro-abortion candidates. The shortcomings of the document forced many bishops to issue their own pastoral letters, leaving many voters confused. Regrettably, I believe the net effect of "Faithful Citizenship" was more confusion than clarity.

We must also remember that the bishops can only do so much. The teaching of the Church is clear, and the laity must be equally dedicated to pastoral efforts in this area. The task of evangelization is most effective, where possible, person-to-person, in a spirit of charity.

You probably have heard the saying that all politics is local. In the same sense, the moral witness of individual Catholics, in their families and in their parishes, will likely do more good than any teaching document from our bishops.

Q: Was the selection of Senator Joe Biden, a Catholic, instrumental for Obama in garnering support from the faithful?

Burch: I don’t believe Senator Biden's Catholicism had any significant impact on Obama's success. His faith was mentioned early on after he was selected as a running mate, but the campaign quickly dropped the references after his misguided statements on Meet the Press in order to avoid a public debate with Catholic bishops and controversies over his support for abortion.

The impact of Biden on the ticket in all likelihood may be felt down the road, as the Catholic bishops must now wrestle with a vice president who publicly disagrees with his Church on several fundamental issues.

Q: The good news is that three state constitutional amendments defining marriage as only between a man and woman passed: in California, Arizona and Florida. Is this an encouraging sign for Catholics?

Burch: This is a very encouraging sign, and represents one issue at least that transcends party lines among voters. For example, some polls suggest that as many as 65% of African American voters support traditional marriage. Thus the large turnout for Obama may have helped these marriage protection efforts. The marriage issue is a uniting issue, and should be celebrated as such.

Q: You launched CatholicVote.com to urge Catholics to vote for candidates who are pro-life, pro-family and pro-faith. You said in a commentary on the site Tuesday that the initiative has been a success. In what ways?

Burch: CatholicVote.com recorded nearly 4 million visitors in just 8 weeks. The 3:30 minute film was the primary reason people flocked to the Web site. In our film, we tried to convey the teachings of the Church in way that not only was educational, but inspirational.

Many Catholic voters continue to ignore the teachings of the Church because of political party or family loyalties, or even distrust of the Church over the past several years. We wanted viewers of our film to not only understand the authentic teachings of the Church, but to rejoice in them! If we want to effectively reach Catholics, we must appeal to their intellects, but also their hearts.

Secondly, we tried to connect the "foundational" issues of life and marriage to the larger social justice issues. Too often Catholic voters who affirm life are accused of being "single-issue voters," when in fact it is the very defense of all human life that allows us to honestly address the issues of poverty, health care, and the economy.

The images of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., and other graphics in our film were not phony political ploys, but instead attempts to connect the priority of the issues of life and marriage to the great number of concerns that require our attention in protecting the common good.

Burch: Like all those who were involved heavily in this election, right now we are focusing on getting more sleep and seeing our families again. We do however have some big plans for CatholicVote.com, and will be making them known in the weeks and months ahead.

The new political climate requires that Catholics be engaged like never before to demand that the dignity of all human life be respected. Our educational mission will continue to make sure that Catholics and all people of good will understand what the Church teaches, and why they must be engaged in public life. Stay tuned!

Q: What are the issues on which the Church and President-elect Obama will be able to work together?

Burch: One of the promises made by Senator Obama involved his pledge to assist women in crisis pregnancies. I am hopeful that he will follow through on this pledge without succumbing to the inevitable demand by pro-abortion groups for more taxpayer money.

Catholics also have a keen interest in a workable immigration solution that respects the dignity of the immigrant, and favors the reunification of families while also creating an environment in which the rule of law is upheld.

Finally, I am hopeful that the new administration will recognize the charitable contributions of Catholic organizations and faith based programs, while respecting their religious identity. During the campaign, Senator Obama expressed a willingness to work with religiously affiliated agencies, and many people expect there to be new funding for social service organizations of this type.

Because of the huge contribution by Catholics in the areas of education, health care, and concern for the needy, I expect a number of new programs will be created that could benefit those involved in this important work.

Again, I am hopeful that the religious identity of Catholic organizations, particularly the rights of conscience of those involved in these organizations, is respected and protected in any new programs undertaken.

And what were the percentages among Evangelicals? I cannot find the statistics, but I would guess that it will be higher than 55%.

So?

The conclusion is that a greater percentage of Evangelicals voted Republican and a greater percentage of Catholics voted Democrat. That is the way both groups usually vote.

It was high, but to be fair Palin was on the ticket. I know a lot of Protestants who are PINOs who voted for marxist slavery and the destruction of all religion.

Well, to be doubly fair, I guess we should point out that Joe Bidne was on the Democrat ticket. He is a pro-abortion Catholic, and I suppose that drew a lot of Catholics to vote for him.

65% McCain, xx% Obama - Weekly church-attending Protestants

55% McCain, 43% Obama - Weekly mass-attending Catholics

Wow. 350 out of 1000 "weekly church-attending" Protestants voted for a candidate that supports murder. Oh those Protestants are so holy...

Look to the beam in your own eye first, my friend.

Regards

“They voted as their union shop stweards told them to vote. Politics and paychecks trumps religion every time”.

But not with everyone Sarge!!

Give me twenty!!!LOL!!!

Lawmakers who vote in favor of abortion in Uruguay incur excommunication http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14238

If our Bishops would do that, it would make a dent in the anti-life movement in this country.

he doesn’t know squat about the economy and if he follows the policies he says he’s going to follow, we’re going to be in double-digit inflation, double-digit interest rates, possibly double digit unemployment, and on and on, in four years from now.

I believe you to be correct. But I will also hold Bush/ Paulson/ Bernanke accountable for their policies too.

The conclusion is that a greater percentage of Evangelicals voted Republican and a greater percentage of Catholics voted Democrat.

Your use of the comparative is confusing, but, regardless, I fail to see the point of this, other than idle curiousity.

Your use of the comparative is confusing, but, regardless, I fail to see the point of this, other than idle curiousity.

Well, if my language is confusing to you, I will try be crystal clear. A majority of Catholics voted for the Democrat presidential ticket that supports abortion. A majority of Evangelicals voted for the Republican presidential ticket that opposes abortion. So now I have made a comparison, but I did not use the comparative form of an adjective.

I hope that is clearer to you. If you still find this confusing, perhaps you could clarify.

Here is a thread at FreeRepublic that may help to clarify your confusion: Loyal to the End: Evangelicals Stay the Course.

This is what post #2 by Elvina says:

I am very impressed with the evangelical vote. This is a very good sign and hope for the unborn. I wish my fellow Catholics had such an impressive showing.

It seems to me that Elvina is a Catholic with no confusin, a Catholic who sees and understands with clarity.

It seems to me that Elvina is a Catholic with no confusin, a Catholic who sees and understands with clarity.

I'm sorry; I am still confused as to what I should understand. I am a Catholic who ALWAYS votes pro-life. I have no control what some people who call themselves Catholic do, nor does it concern me greatly. I don't believe ANYONE should vote pro-choice, atheists included.

I simply don't understand what you're doing, other than trying to scramble for some moral high ground based on the actions of others who share your name, not your own.

Sounds pretty pointless to me.

I'm sorry; I am still confused as to what I should understand.

A simple fact. The majority of Catholics voted Democrat. The majority of Evangelicals voted Republican. Is that so difficult to acknowledge?

I simply don't understand what you're doing

I am stating facts. Are you denying that the majority of Catholics voted Democrat and the majority of Evangelicals voted Republican?

It is simple.
After decades of liberal theology, liberation theology, and preaching redistribution of wealth, the average wishy washy Christmas Bunny Catholic (or Protestant) voted for the one that most matched what they have been taught.

And the pro life message has been watered down in all our churches because it offends to many with money. I have seen it happen. Most pastors/priests will not offend big donors, no matter what the reason.

And you will likely never see that here. To much property and money at risk.

My old Lutheran pastor in Lincoln one time was warned to keep quiet because “We might loose our tax exemption”.

He said “So?”Most pastor/priests will not do that.

It is time to fight the tax exempt status rule. It is an IRS thing anyway and who says that Church’s can’t have a say in not only issues, but also candidates?

To be fair, the cause of the crash actually started back in the Clinton adminstration with the heavy expansion of the Community Reinvestment Act coupled with the repeal of the Glass Steigal act. And Greenspan.

It wasn’t Bernanke. But it IS fair to point to Greenspan. And it wasn’t alot to do with Bush. It goes back more to the Clinton administration and their bigtime expansion of the Community Reinvestment Act - causing subprime mortgages, and the repeal of Glass-Steigal, allowing banks to not keep much in reserve. That’s why credit got so loose. Paulson is terrible and should step down. The Bush Admin. is a lot less to blame for this particular mess than most people realize - and Clinton, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and Alan Greenspan are a lot MORE culpable than most people realize.

Well, Greenspan dropped the ball, which is why he was confessing his sins before Congress. He knows his reputation is on the line—mabe I should say his social standing—which is why he doesn’y tell the truth about the matter.
He does not dare confront those who are about to take over the government and the country. What would his wife say?

The social engineering by itsself could not have produced this mess. What it did was to open the dorr to middle-class people leveraging to buy several houses, flipping them to make a killing. So we have a long line of people with more houses that they can’t pay for. But the social engineer was stupid. Like selling a car to a sixteen year oldfor no money down when he barely had money for the payments, much less insurance, gas and maintenance.

In a way it is the fault of the pre-Vatican II clergy. They didn’t teach Catholics how to confront opposite points of view, but just to obey Father/Sister. And Father and Sister were the same way. Once the changes came down the pike, they still went along for the ride, just in a new car. Like “Thoroughly Modern Millie” they went from straight to hip. Their new liberalism was just as blind as their former orthodoxy.

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