[Warlord]

"'People don't vote based on their religious affiliation,' said John White, a political science professor at Catholic University in Washington. 'Being Catholic does not really matter to Americans when they go and vote anymore.'"

A more nuanced approach would first ask what is meant by the "Catholic" vote. When nominal Catholics are excluded by only considering people who attend Mass with approximately the required frequency (or more), Bush is leading significantly. If the typical notion of Catholic vote includes 25% of the voting population, the more refined measure includes about 10%. With respect to this 10%, Catholicity matters. This election, this voting block is especially important in the Midwest and Great Lakes states.

[Screaming Eagle Red Leg]

A more nuanced approach would first ask what is meant by the "Catholic" vote.

Quite true. When a Protestant leaves his church, he will most often no longer consider himself to be Methodist, Presbyterian, etc. But a Catholic who hasn’t attended Mass in 20 years will still consider himself “Catholic” (unless he has become a member of a non-Catholic church).