Tea Party More Religious Than U.S., Less Than Conservative Christians

By Kevin Eckstrom
Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS) American who identify with the "tea party" are more religious than the general population, but are less religious than conservative Christians, according to a new American Values poll.

The survey by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute found that 11 percent of Americans say they are part of the amorphous tea party movement, compared to 22 percent of Americans who identify as Christian conservatives.

Nearly half (47 percent) of those who claim the tea party label also consider themselves Christian conservatives or part of the religious right, according to the survey.

White evangelicals make up more than one-third of the tea party movement, more than double the size of the second-largest groups, mainline Protestants and Catholics (14 percent each); a full 70 percent of the movement are white Christians.

The report said the religious profile of the tea party "differs only modestly" from the religious make-up of the Republican Party.

On three levels of religious engagement--literal views of the Bible, weekly church attendance and rating religion as the "most important" thing in life--tea partiers were more religious than Americans as a whole, but less than conservative Christians:

-- Literal views of the Bible: tea party 47 percent, Christian conservatives 64 percent, Americans overall 33 percent.

-- Weekly church attendance: tea party 46 percent, Christian conservatives 64 percent, Americans overall 36 percent.

-- Religion as most important: tea party 27 percent, Christian conservatives 39 percent, Americans overall 20 percent.

In other findings, while three-quarters of Americans said a candidate's religious beliefs would have no impact on their voting choices, nearly a third of evangelicals said they would be less inclined to vote for a candidate who holds different religious beliefs.

The survey of 3,013 U.S. adults has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Comments

[cibersatan]

08:23 AM on 11/17/2010

I keep hearing about these "Christians" supposedly being slaughtered in the streets....I got this big old hoard of popcorn when it starts happening

[farmilyman]

04:43 AM on 10/13/2010

Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.”
Seneca quote
Roman Philosopher

[discouragerofhesitancy]

04:31 PM on 10/13/2010

Excellent.
What a preposterous qualifier "more religious," as if that makes one a better human, or a more ethical person, or more observant of the faith they claim to follow,
Every bagger I know personally claims their big-time faith in god, but their actions prove the exact opposite.

[Poorsarah]

11:23 PM on 10/12/2010

the back of the ladies shirt said that it is impossible to govern a nation without God and the Bible; where was the outrage when Ronnie Raegan and wife Nancy sought astrologers for the guidance of our nation? Where was the outrage by the GOP/TEA when it was discovered that all three Bushes: daddy, jr. and Jeb; are faithful members of the Bohemian Grove. Selective outrage from the TEAbaggers is easy to see through and only exposes more of their hypocrisy. President Obama seeks both God and the Bible and yet the baggers still complain...sheesh!!!

[conservo]

09:23 PM on 10/14/2010

It is not the Tea Partiers that are complaining about Obama and his religion (or lack thereof). As an Atheist and a Tea Partier I can tell you that the Tea Party mainly sticks to fiscal/economic issues. Do they hold opinions on social issues? Sure they do---as individuals. Have I heard religious/social opinions ay Tea Party rallies? Yes I have--but it has never been the prime focus of the rally. The Tea Party has been quite good at sticking to the issues of fiscal prudency and government living within its means.

[LMPE]

04:31 PM on 10/12/2010

As for me, I'm as religious as George Carlin and Bill Maher.

[impermanentlife]

12:45 PM on 10/13/2010

Yeah!

[gawd]

01:57 AM on 10/12/2010

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."

[Genita Love]

01:57 AM on 11/15/2010

Fan and Faved....THIS point needs to be emphasized...It's starting to look like we may be dealing with fascism....with this deranged mob..

[Aesthete]

04:25 PM on 10/11/2010

There is a vast gulf between "religiosity" and genuine human compassion coupled with a truly spiritual relationship with God.

[jwoolman]

02:16 PM on 10/11/2010

I get the criteria of weekly church (or whatever) attendence and top priority to religion - but why literal interpretation of the bible? In addition to the obvious problem of religions for which the bible is not a sacred text - it doesn't even define all those who do include the bible as sacred.- For instance, at least 1/4 of Americans are Catholic, and mainstream Catholics don't take the Bible literally (it's just one of many sources for them and always subject to interpretation). Anybody who knows anything about translation also might balk at "literal" ... But really, they're limiting themselves way too much with that criterion. They are obviously just looking for very specific types of Protestant fundamentalists and so their survey says nothing about real religious engagement in general.

[grf67]

01:50 PM on 10/11/2010

Since both celebrate ignorance and violence, neither is actually christian or religious. Both are packs of white, self-centered racists trying to spread hate and anger.

[conservo]

09:30 PM on 10/14/2010

Wow. I can tell you've never been to a Tea Party because everything that you just said was nonsense. There has not been one documented act of violence at a Tea Party. There has been numerous acts of violence, recently, by the left and the victims were either innocent bystanders or those on the right.

[laxwaxer]

08:02 AM on 10/11/2010

"The last refuge of the scoundrel, is the flag and the bible."

Mark Twain

[gawd]

01:55 AM on 10/12/2010

word

[Js420]

02:37 PM on 10/10/2010

The GOP will suffer in 2010 because they allowed their party to be run by the tea baggers

[Poorsarah]

12:31 AM on 10/13/2010

very true

[Dextor Morgan]

12:10 AM on 10/10/2010

When I was younger "I dabbled in Christianity". I recall going to service with a friend of mine who was an evangelical christian and he told me to be prepared because it was "Speaking in Tongues Night". It was a Thursday night if I recall. I thought What? They have a night for that? It was spooky hearing the so-called tongues and it scared the republican out of me. But, most of the commenters here are "preaching to the choir". I don't believe teabaggers have really received the Holy Spirit. Where is the love?

[Aesthete]

04:56 PM on 10/11/2010

Speaking in "tongues" is one of the most misunderstood and grossly misinterpreted phenomena in the Bible. If those who espouse Christianity would only read Acts, Chapter 2 in its entirety instead of stopping with verse 4, they would find a perfectly plausible explanation of this phenomenon, which is 100% natural, not "magical." The city in which it occurred was a major port that had a common language, but its inhibitants were from diverse regions nearby, each having its own particular language that the speakers thereof learned as children at their mothers' knee. When they were filled with the holy spirit, each began to speak in his or her language of origin. The significance of this demonstration is that God's word is available to all in whatever is his or her native language, not some weird, off-the-wall gibberish, edifying to no one. In the crowd that witnessed this activity, each person present heard something that that was recognizable to him or her, depending on where they were from. Too many have become intrigued by what they perceive as a "magic show."

[Genita Love]

02:02 AM on 11/15/2010

I had an experience like you described...although, I was raised Baptist...btw...Suffice it to say, it scared this Baptist female...anyway, for what it's worth...I agree. I most certainly do not see the love of Christ in these people...(1 John 3:17-20 describes them to a "Tea'....)

[bigmacha]

07:49 PM on 10/09/2010

Top Ten Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian (2nd 5)

10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.

9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.

8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God.

7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees!

6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.

[bigmacha]

07:55 PM on 10/09/2010

Source:http://www.evilbible.com/

[MarianoG]

09:07 PM on 10/11/2010

Just how many issues on this website are people going to turn into anti-Christian tirades and respond to by merely pasting evilbible.com’s URL?
The more that someone appeals to evilbible.com the more they discredit themselves as evilbible.com is saturated with fallacies of every sort and has been discredited: here is some of the evidence with a true and honest skeptic will take the time to consider.

Evilbible.com’s general unreliability:
http://www.truefreethinker.com/evilbiblecom

[Elmer Clayton]

09:46 PM on 10/11/2010

ARTICLE 11.
As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,-as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen,-and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

This article 11 is something else, no wonder we have so many mosques. Could be a double edge sword?

[Okiemama]

04:47 PM on 10/11/2010

Glad I bothered to read this site just to see this gem. Thank you. F&F

[bigmacha]

05:49 PM on 10/11/2010

You're welcome.

[bigmacha]

07:49 PM on 10/09/2010

Top Ten Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian (1st 5)

5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old.

4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."

3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity.

2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.

1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian.

[bigmacha]

07:55 PM on 10/09/2010

Source:http://www.evilbible.com/

[alterego55]

01:09 PM on 10/09/2010

Teabagism is a religion. Belief in myth and falsehoods despite all logical and scientifically provable facts to the contrary.

[interlude]

11:22 PM on 10/10/2010

And continual suspension of disbelief.

[p456]

08:29 AM on 10/09/2010

When you have a brain the size of a petite sweet pea, It's easy to be mesmerized by someone in a priest costume, and creepy organ music. The teapublicans are just right for the deception that all religion is.