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.
No I’m not. If we had a candidate with a record as a government minimalist, with a record against taxes, with a record against constitutional expansionism, he would have won. Each of those is a severe weakness of Obama’s, but there is no one in the GOP today with a strong record on those. None of the state anti-abortion initiatives won and the social issues debate moves us onto the legalistic turf of our opposition where you can have a draw but no victory.
Sorry, couldn’t help myself. It just seemed à propos.
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?
In all fairness, every traditionally Democrat group has retained his fanatical, trans-ideological, cross-generational loyalty. It seems to be part of the definition of "Democrat" (including, to this day, "yellow dog" Southern whites). Though, of course, the constant slamming of Fundamentalists by Catholics and Catholic publications--indistinguishable from the attitude of the elite left--certainly doesn't make it any easier for Catholics to vote like "those people."
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?
And of course, the root cause of the whole problem (which Lawler and other "conservative" Catholics will never mention), most Catholics believe in evolution. Why interpret John 8 any more literally than Genesis 1-11?
Donal Anthony Foley (British creationist Catholic) has it right--Catholics have developed an anti-Biblical bias stemming from a reaction to Protestantism that has made the Catholic Church friendly to evolution from the get-go.
For some strange reason Blacks aren't classified as Fundamentalists, Protestants, or even chr*stians. They're just classified as "Blacks."
In addition, the reason people ‘could care less’ is because no one ever really talks about what abortion REALLY is—most people couldn’t tell you how many millions of babies have been murdered in this holocaust. Most people would be appalled
(decent ones, I mean, not moonbats)to learn these figures. Most people who voted for Obama who are decent would be appalled to discover his stands on abortion and his plans for the future.
ABORTION is going to be the issue that divides this country and causes the next great Civil War—believe me. Once the facts get out. It’s GETTING the facts out that must be addressed. (And I don’t mean showing grim pictures of abortions, etc.)
Here, here! It's high time we stopped being "enablers" for an RNC completely out of touch with its traditional base. By settling for lip-service against abortion, on the grounds that that's better than just greasing the skids to victory for openly pro-death Democrats, we encourage them to trot out mediocre candidates for all Federal offices year after year. I might vote Republican in more local races, but I have not voted Republican for president since 1992. I have always voted the man who best represents a mindset based on sound constitutionally "constructionist" principles.
Granted, I live in Massachusetts, so this is "easy," since the Republicans have absolutely no chance here anyway. But the concept has to start spreading elsewhere. The Republicans either need to be "forced" back to their base, or abandoned in favor of a more viable conservative movement. They are not the answer any more. They don't have what it takes, they don't show any signs they will in the future, and they have given us nothing but lip-service to the "pro-life issues" and backpedaling to everything else in the socialist agenda of the Democrats!
That conservatives were forced yet again to vote for the "lesser of two evils," and forced to publicly pretend he was an almost ideal candidate, is disgusting. That we conservative Christians were constrained to implore Heaven itself for McCain's victory is more than disgusting, and shows God Himself just how low we have sunk. I still hope for His mercy to descend on this country, but I await His judgment on it instead as the more likely occurence.
Miserere nobis, Domine. Sed fiat voluntas tua.
What Christian Church teaches abortion is ok? I know that
I didn’t need guidance from any authority except the Holy
Spirit and God’s word to know what was the correct way to
vote. The truth is that if Christians of whatever flavor
had voted the Bible, we would not have president Obama.
Choose Life, it really is that simple.
Protestant churches, of course, NEVER allow ceremonies among those who don’t attend regularly.
I’ve been to big protestant weddings where the bride and room were openly living together. Generally such things are the individual decision of the priest, just as they are individual decision of the minister. A discerning individual realizes that it is the priest or minister in that case who is erring, not the entire faith.
Some Catholics have already done so, despite this coming from Lawler and being hosted on a Catholic website - see post #50.
And of course, the root cause of the whole problem (which Lawler and other "conservative" Catholics will never mention), most Catholics believe in evolution. Why interpret John 8 any more literally than Genesis 1-11?
Donal Anthony Foley (British creationist Catholic) has it right--Catholics have developed an anti-Biblical bias stemming from a reaction to Protestantism that has made the Catholic Church friendly to evolution from the get-go.
"If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me."
- John 5:46
“For some strange reason Blacks aren’t classified as Fundamentalists, Protestants, or even chr*stians. They’re just classified as ‘Blacks.’”
Convenient, isn’t it? They pull blacks out of the Protestant numbers, making the “Protestant vote” appear more Republican, but don’t pull hispanics out of Catholic numbers. No agenda there!
In the same way, observant Jews should not be lumped in with secular Jews. There is no “Jewish vote.” It is well known that the more observant a Jew is, the more likely he or she is to vote Republican.
I’ll say it again: There is a religious vote and a non-religious vote. Crunching the numbers in a way so as to make members of certain religious groups appear to be sinning Democrats is bigotry, pure and simple.
While I am not a chr*stian, it is quite maddening that the “unchanging” Catholic Church used to believe the “first Adam” was a real as the “second Adam,” but now the “first Adam” was merely a literary form.
If abortion should be in the courts and legislatures, it’s at the state level. A constitutionalist candidate would point out the federal government has no standing in the matter and the so-called privacy guarantee doesn’t exist at the federal level. But it’s also the wrong issue to demonstrate limits within the constitution. TAXES and other wealth appropriations would be more appropriate targets in my opinion, with the burden falling again on the states to levy them. As far as I’m concerned you could have a state where abortion is available at any term and where income taxes are 100%. You could choose to live there, or not. But on the federal side? Hell no.
You could write this same article, changing only a few words such as substituting the issue of Israel for the issue of a baby’s life, and you would have an accurate discussion of the Jewish vote in this election.
There are those who are Jews in faith and life, and there are those who are jews by lineage. True concern for the well-being of Jews in Israel is not shown by a vote for a party that has favored the attackers of Israel but a great many vote for that party regardless. Just my observation—correct me if I am wrong.
Any church that teaches "the pill" is okay is teaching abortion is okay.
Any church that teaches "the pill" is okay is teaching abortion is okay.
No church is immune. I'm a Baptist and had very heated discussions with my Evangelical cousin. Church will be intense after services this week, our pastor has been very clear about how Christians don't support people who believe infanticide is okay.
You remind me of a common belief among the tragically naive. Democrats are for the little guy; they are for the poor. I have been involved with a Democrat funding organization (a great many years ago) and learned that the only thing the Dem party is interested in is poor-peoples’ votes and money. They will pry a few dollars from even poor people for whom that is precious money. They will act like they care for the poor but in reality they care for the union dollars, the masses ignorant votes, and for the power of the most wealthy and elite.
Any objective examination of what the Dem party has done to the poor is damning. Look at the illegitimacy rates, the wages and job opportunities in once great manufacturing industries, the quality of public education, the competitiveness of our nation, the opportunities for future generations, even the dignity of entertainment—look at what Dem’s have done to the quality of existence for the poor. Tell that to any foolish Catholic and ask them how they could be so insensitive and cruel to the poor.
Wait a minute. I understand the disappointment of seeing your church do so poorly in fighting infanticide, but don't project fault somewhere else. Pres. Bush appointed Alito and Roberts who are both good conservative justices.
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