CAP: Faith-Based Groups Had a Progressive Effect During the 2012 Election

[pampango]

Center for American Progress:

Heading into the 2012 election season, few could have predicted that a group of nuns, a network of black churches, and a first-time networkwide voter-mobilization campaign would significantly shape the electoral terrain. But these groups were responsible for significant counternarrative victories for progressive values in 2012.

A faith-based organizing network quietly built resistance to a Taxpayer Bill of Rights-like amendment being pushed by conservatives in Florida, successfully reversing public opinion and protecting public services for the state. African American congregations in Ohio and Florida rejected voter-intimidation efforts and instead cast their ballots in record numbers. And a group of nuns on a bus reoriented the focus of election-season headlines from debates over the federal deficit to a national discussion around economic justice.

These efforts promoted the belief that we are our brother’s and sister’s keepers. Each success demonstrated that, at a minimum, we, the people, demand fairness, equality, protection, and a voice—for ourselves and for our brothers and sisters. Most importantly, each win shed light on the durability of these values—values that are holding strong across the nation in a time of financial, social, demographic, religious, and political uncertainty.

For more on this topic, please see:

The Rise of ‘New Values Voters’ by Catherine Woodiwiss (http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/religion/report/2013/01/25/50655/the-rise-of-new-values-voters/)

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/general/news/2013/01/28/50842/idea-of-the-day-faith-based-groups-had-a-progressive-effect-during-the-2012-election/

Nice to see faith-based groups have such a progressive effect in the 2012 election. The right seems to think that faith-based groups are all conservative with a 'hate-and-exclusion' agenda.

[dmallind]

1. Pretty selective - here's the whole picture

Protestants did favor Romney, by 57 percent, a figure that jumped to 78 percent when just looking at self-identified born-again Christians, usually called evangelicals.

But 50 percent of Catholics voted for Obama, even with the Democratic party opposed to the Catholic Church on abortion.

And Obama's support jumped to 74 percent among religious voters of other religions, including Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and pagans.

In fact, non-Christian religious voters went for Obama more reliably than non-religious voters. Still 70 percent of non-religious voters supported Obama, but 26 percent of them voted for Romney.

Read more at http://www.latinospost.com/articles/6980/20121117/popular-vote-2012-results-breakdown-presidential-election.htm#jj5kLfY01fSXJaKJ.99

So the overwhelming religious majority - Christians - broke decisively for Romney. Since there are just over twice as many Protestnts as Catholics, we can use (.57*.67) + (.50*.33) to get that 54.7% of Christians went Romney - a huge swing over the 47% national total. Since Christians are so dominant, it needed supermajorities of 70%+ of other, and non-religions to get the results we saw.

So taken holistically, the headline is only true if you assume the qualifier "minority and lack-of-" before "faith-based groups"