Catholics in US overwhelmingly support homosexual unions

Catholic Culture ^ | October 08, 2010

[Alex Murphy]

Catholics form a relatively low percentage of participants the Tea Party movement, have similar views to most Americans on abortion, and overwhelmingly support the legal recognition of homosexual unions, according to a survey published by the Public Religion Research Institute.

The survey found that 14% of Tea Party participants are white Catholics, and another 4% are Latino Catholics-- a lower percentage total than the 22% of Americans who are Catholic.

The survey also found that 26% of white Catholics, and 18% of Latino Catholics, say they are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports abortion, while 38% of white Catholics, and 26% of Latino Catholics, are less likely to vote for a pro-abortion candidate. Overall, 30% of Americans are more likely, and 35% are less likely, to vote for a pro-abortion candidate.

In addition, the survey found that Catholics overwhelmingly support legal recognition of homosexual unions. 41% of white Catholics, and 46% of Latino Catholics, support same-sex marriage, while an additional 36% of white Catholics, and 22% of Latino Catholics, support same-sex civil unions. Only 19% of white Catholics, and 30% of Latino Catholics, are faithful to Catholic teaching, which opposes the legal recognition of homosexual unions. Overall, 37% of Americans support same-sex marriage, 27% support civil unions, and 33% oppose the legal recognition of homosexual unions. In 2006, only 26% of Americans supported same-sex marriage.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Good analysis. When I started reading this account the first thing I asked myself was "What was the question?"

Secondly, The survey found that 14% of Tea Party participants are white Catholics, and another 4% are Latino Catholics-- a lower percentage total than the 22% of Americans who are Catholic.

That does not seem particularly untoward. 14% + 4% = 18% . That is hardly "off" the 22% that is claimed to be Catholic. It would be astonishing if the first 2 figures added up to 22%, wouldn't it? 4% have dropped by the wayside and have not affiliated with the TEA Party. Are they working? Bowling? Playing Bridge? It would be truly astounding if 100% of any group (Catholics, Toyota drivers, Sudoko afficianados, teachers) affiliated with any other group with differing interests. That would really make a story.

This study affirms the old saying, "There are lies, damned lies, and statistics."

[francky]

The Ford Foundation sponsored the survey? Enough said!

[Zionist Conspirator]

If Catholics actually took their theology seriously we wouldn’t be in the mess we’ve been in for the past forty years.

[Zionist Conspirator]

Since the Church is not a democracy, even if this poll is close to accurate, it doesn’t reflect what the Church believes or teaches.

This is true. Unfortunately, it seems that the contemporary Church is unable to teach communicate its teachings to its people. Otherwise the people would agree with the Church's official teachings.

[Pyro7480]

Unfortunately, it seems that the contemporary Church is unable to teach communicate its teachings to its people.

Unable, unwilling, and/or incompetent.

[GOPJ]

I discussed this issue with a young Quaker the other night - my point was that Churches have the right to define their own positions - and defend them.

For-instance, I believe it would be wrong for a bunch of retired military generals to join Quaker Organizations with the intent of getting them to be more positive toward war.

There are plenty of churches that accept military solutions to some national problems. Quakers have the right to maintain their own beliefs.

It's the same with the Catholic Church - they have the right NOT to accept homosexuality.

Would you be afraid to speak up about ex-military moving in and taking over the Quaker beliefs?

[ansel12]

A more relevant poll would be polling CINO's and practicing Catholics separately.

Purity and theological perfection testing would be wonderful for all polls, including for Protestants and Jews, and Buddhists, also separating denominations, Episcopalians/Southern Baptists?

The constant rebuttal against measuring the Catholic vote gets tiresome and whiny, it has always been a liberal vote in America.

[ansel12]

For instance, as a Catholic,

As a Republican voting Catholic, you are in the minority, do you really think that the majority of Catholics vote Democrat yet disagree with their pro abortion, pro homosexual, pro immigration platform?

[Sola Veritas]

I don’t buy this poll conclusions at all....and I’m Southern Baptist.

What the poll should have looked at were how many “practicing” Roman Catholics view the issue. Amoung them, I would expect <10% would approve of homosexual unions.

Just because someone is “nominally” a Roman Catholic doesn’t mean anything. In my own denomination of Southern Baptists....the claim is made that there are 15 Million or more in the U.S. Probably less than 2 million of that number actually participate in church....unless you count showing up once a year at Easter. I’m more than certain Roman Catholics have the same problem. They have a lot of persons listed as Roman Catholic that never attend a church except for weddings or funerals...or like Baptists on Easter. Those aren’t true RCs.

[ansel12]

I know some people enjoy trolling for this sort of statistic. Like the ones who harp that 56% of Catholics voted for Obama and 46% of Protestants voted for McCain. It is misleading. A few years back there was a survey that said Catholics overwhelmingly thought that abortion was okay. When you got to the end of the hit piece, I mean article it said only 229 Catholics were polled. Agenda? It’s hard to take this seriously even though the same people will jump on the band wagon.

Obama did win 54% of the Catholic vote, which is normal, since Catholics have only voted Republican 6 times in 100 years, and probably our entire history, and Protestants have only voted Democrat 3 times in our history, (or at least 100 years).

[mlizzy]

Ask the Catholics leaving a TLM Mass, if they support homosexual unions, and the numbers will be strikingly lower.

[ansel12]

You would find ZERO support among pre-Vatican II, Traditional Mass clingers-on like myself and others here.

The pre Vatican II Catholics, were more anti Republican than today, the only exception in their history of voting Democratic was in 1956.

[ansel12]

The same way that they count everyone else, they ask them.

[Alex Murphy]

A more relevant poll would be polling CINO's and practicing Catholics separately.

You mean like this?

2008 Presidential Election demographics, footnoted and annotated
Your "by the numbers" breakdown of the 2008 vote, with emphasis on the Catholic voter (as of 04/07/09):

55% McCain, 43% Obama - Weekly mass-attending Catholics ^6,9
52% McCain, 47% Obama - White "regular-mass-attending" Catholics¹²
52% McCain, 47% Obama - White Catholic¹⁴
51% McCain, 49% Obama - White Catholics^1,7,11
45% McCain, 54% Obama - Catholics^{1,4,6,8,9,10,11,12}
45% McCain, 54% Obama - Catholic¹⁴
37% McCain, 61% Obama - Non-weekly-mass-attending Catholics^6,12
xx% McCain, 67% Obama - Hispanic Catholics^8,11**,***, ****

** No source provided voting percentages for the other party.
*** Associated Press (citation #11) reports this number as 72%, instead of the 67% other media gave it.
**** Note that some media are reporting the same numbers for the Hispanic and Black vote in general, as well as for those same groups with Catholic or Protestant affiliation.
Citations:
¹ The Awesome Blue God -- How Obama Forged A New Faith Coalition
⁴ Obama's Religious Appeal: Still Missing Evangelicals - which TIME renamed as Obama: Bringing (Some) Evangelicals In
⁶ What's wrong with Catholic voters? What's wrong with Catholics?
⁷ Evangelical Voters Favor McCain by Wide Margins
⁸ Catholic voters heavily favored Obama, analysis shows
⁹ What Happened to the Catholic Vote?
¹⁰ Loyal to the End: Evangelicals Stay the Course
¹¹ Obama results show gains in key religious voters
¹² How the faithful voted
¹⁴ Pew Forum - How The Faithful Voted

All numbers cited above are the earliest ones reported in the press. In cases of multiple reports, some percentages cited were not exact. However, the numbers above are within 2% of all sources cited, lending credence to the general number & placement overall.

Other resources:
With the Help of Catholics…Obama’s Victory
Results! Evangelicals
Mainline Protestants and Latino evangelicals surge toward Obama [pre-election article]
Poll: Latino Protestants switching back to Democrats this election [pre-election article]
The Hispanic Protestant swing vote [pre-election article]
America spoke
Believers in the Pews--and the Polling Booth
McCain Beats Bush on Evangelical Vote

[ansel12]

Just because someone is “nominally” a Roman Catholic doesn’t mean anything. In my own denomination of Southern Baptists....the claim is made that there are 15 Million or more in the U.S. Probably less than 2 million of that number actually participate in church....unless you count showing up once a year at Easter. I’m more than certain Roman Catholics have the same problem. They have a lot of persons listed as Roman Catholic that never attend a church except for weddings or funerals...or like Baptists on Easter. Those aren’t true RCs.

When they count the Protestant vote, they count the lesbian preachers, blacks, people that the Baptist churches have purged from their rolls, Hispanics, Episcopalians, people that don't attend any church, the Reverend Wright church, everyone that says that they are Christians that aren't Catholics.

[Cicero]

I haven’t seen any recent figures, but the figures for the years from FDR through Clinton are pretty revealing.

In the earlier years, most American Catholics belonged to despised ethnic groups: Irish, Poles, Italians, etc. The WASP establishment and other Americans looked down at them. many of them belonged to labor unions, which at one time had a real purpose in fighting exploitation.

In FDR’s day, probably 90% of Catholics voted Democrat.

The turning point was Roe v. Wade. After the Democrats became the party of abortion and perversion, Catholics started to drift over to the other side. At the same time, the WASP establishment was decaying and collapsing.

By the time you get to clinton, the numbers had gone from 90-10 Democrat to about 50-50. And those who still voted Democrat were mostly non-church-going Catholics, i.e., bad Catholics.

As it happens, I am Catholic, but I have had professional connections working with Evangelicals. In the earlier years, Catholics were marching against Roe v. Wade, but Evangelicals hadn’t yet woken up. Now, of course, that has changed, too.

The bishops need to do better, I agree. They clearly say that abortion is intrinsically evil, but they don’t say it loudly or often enough. And they hesitate to name names: Kennedy, Pelosi, to name two who should be outed more publicly.

[Jaded]

Like the ones who harp that 56% of Catholics voted for Obama and 46% of Protestants voted for McCain.

Means 54% of protestants voted for someone other than McCain. That was the point. What percentage of these "Catholic" people actually attend a church... ever? My sister claims she's a Catholic. She hasn't been to church regularly for about 30 years, since she was in high school. It is a dishonest representation. But she'd never tell anyone that she 'doesn't do any religion'.

[ansel12]

That was a lame defense of the indefensible.

The second time that Catholics voted Republican was in 1972, not post RoevWade, in 1976 they voted Democrat, they loved Clinton in 1992, 1996, and Al Gore in 2000, and the most pro abortion President ever, Obama in 2008.

The Catholic, Republican votes are rare, narrow, and 4 out of 6 of them were for an incumbent, and one was for Reagan’s veep, and you don’t want to know about congressional voting.

Protestants voted pro life in every election.

[ansel12]

Means 54% of protestants voted for someone other than McCain. That was the point.

You are insane, the only time in our history that Protestants have voted Democrat was in 1932, 1936, and 1964, they even voted against El Presidente for life, Roosevelt in 1940 and 1944, and against Truman.

In 2008 Protestants voted for McCain by 54%, while Catholics voted for Obama by 54%.

Even Hispanic Protestants voted for McCain by 48%.