Why Religion Will Matter In 2012

After the release of our poll last week showing the impact of perceptions of religious differences on support for President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, I've been answering a lot of questions about why religion will matter in the 2012 elections. There is both a particular and a general answer to this question.

The 2012 presidential election is more than 15 months away, but Republican presidential hopefuls are already simultaneously burnishing their religious credentials and trying to address potentially problematic religious connections. Although only four-in-ten Americans currently know Mitt Romney is Mormon, as his campaign proceeds, he will need to negotiate negative perceptions of his Mormon faith, particularly among white evangelical Protestants who make up a sizeable portion of the Republican base. Michele Bachmann has faced criticisms that her former long-time church holds anti-Catholics views and that her husband's Christian counseling practice offers discredited ex-gay "reparative therapy." Texas Governor Rick Perry held an all-day Christian prayer event this weekend in Houston, an event that many see as a de facto presidential campaign launch. And on the Democratic side, President Obama continues to have his own problems with perceptions of his faith: only four-in-ten Americans correctly identify his religion as Christian, and 18 percent of Americans continue to wrongly believe he is Muslim.

In addition to the specifics of the 2012 horse race, there is a second, simpler answer to why religion will matter in the 2012 election: Americans are generally highly religious, and it is at least one important lens influencing Americans views of political candidates.

Sociologists have long noticed that Americans registered much higher levels of religiosity than most industrialized nations. G.K. Chesterton called America "the nation with the soul of a church," and Max Weber, de Tocqueville, and other prominent observers of America all saw the peculiarly strong religious character of American culture as a mark of its uniqueness.
These earlier observations stand up today in scientific surveys. Gallup found that Americans register higher religiosity scores -- as measured by self-reported worship attendance, salience of religion in their personal lives, and confidence in religious institutions -- than other residents of North America and every western European country except Ireland.

Consider these findings from the 2010 American Values Survey, conducted by Public Religion Research Institute:

• Nearly six-in-ten (57 percent) Americans say religion is very important or the most important thing in their lives.
• A majority (51 percent) of Americans report attending religious services at least a few times per month.
• Nine-in-ten Americans report that they believe in God. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) believe that God is a person with whom one can have a relationship.
• Nearly seven-in-ten (69 percent) Americans believe that the Bible is the word of God, and nearly half of this group (33 percent) believe that the Bible should also be taken literally, word for word.

Moreover, religion is not only a personal matter for many Americans, but it is also something they see as important in evaluating political leaders.

• A July 2011 PRRI survey found that a majority (56 percent) of Americans say it is very or somewhat important for a presidential candidate to have strong religious beliefs, regardless of whether those beliefs are the same as their own. Majorities of both Democrats (51 percent) and Republicans (71 percent) agree with this statement.
• A 2010 survey by Pew Research Center found that approximately six-in-ten (61 percent) Americans agree that it is important that members of Congress have strong religious beliefs, including 55 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of Republicans.

While it is too soon to say for certain what will happen in 2012, understanding the religious forces in American culture will be sure to help make sense not only of the twists and turns of the campaigns but of the final tallies at the ballot box.

This article was originally posted by Dr. Jones on his new blog "Figuring Faith" at the Washington Post's On Faith section.

 

 

 

Follow Robert P. Jones, Ph.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/publicreligion

Comments

[geechieboy]

06:17 AM on 08/13/2011

People tend to turn to religion in times of social distress and upheaval. Unfortunately, the general population is ignorant about the most part and are subject to the easy answers of fundamentalist religious views. The problem is that this is going to cause division due to persons on the right and left incorrectly linking their political and religious views.

[Moose Luck 99]

08:43 PM on 08/12/2011

We are The Christian Left. We’re all around you. We’re among the people. Take a look. We’re part of the Body of Christ. We’re Christians. We’re Liberal. We make no apologies. In fact Jesus' ways are “Liberal.” That’s why He was killed. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were the conservatives of their time. This is clear. Oh and Ed, we love you. Keep up the good fight!

http://www.thechristianleftblog.org/1/post/2011/08/the-enemies-within-the-20-most-dangerous-conservatives-and-their-organizations.html

[Computer Geek]

04:09 PM on 08/11/2011

Finally, at least some religious people are trying to set the record straight:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110811/OPINION01/308110016/Guest-columnist-True-Christian-voters-don-t-politicize-the-Bible

[JShep]

03:37 PM on 08/11/2011

When it comes to religion, it's not what you believe that is important, it is how you act because of what you believe that is important.

[Druidblue]

03:15 PM on 08/11/2011

The ultimate problem is that no one is supposed use their faith in decisions regarding political office, only wisdom, which are often at odds. It IS possible to remove your faith from decisions regarding others of many faiths as Democrats do very well. However conservatives never do, and thus force their religion upon all- an ultimate betrayal of our Constitution.

http://www.truth-saves.com

[Callout]

03:06 PM on 08/11/2011

This is what happens when teaching science and critical thinking are marginalized by creationism. If you don't tow the religious line, you will never get elected to a position of power in this country. And here we are pointing our fingers at other countries for imposing religion on their people and not being secular. We have long way to go.

[android81]

02:52 PM on 08/11/2011

Because it's all about jobs, right?

[Lynda Groom]

01:35 PM on 08/11/2011

All of those statistics mentioned certainly show that America has yet to become a mature society. Perhaps someday we will evolve beyond organized religion into a truly well-founded society grounded in reality and reason.

[pdferguson]

01:47 PM on 08/11/2011

I pray that you're right...

[Callout]

03:00 PM on 08/11/2011

Amen to that.

[mosttruthful]

01:30 PM on 08/11/2011

Wow, LIBLAND is really going to hate this article.

[josefz]

02:45 PM on 08/11/2011

Pat yourself on the back now and go prepare for the rapture.

[Tom Horne]

03:27 PM on 08/11/2011

Patting oneself on the back can result in a Rupture.

[karen lyons kalmenson]

01:22 PM on 08/11/2011

religion is a collection of rituals and rites
some for the daytime others for the night
but spirituality, compassion and kindness
come from the heart
not by following dogma, in blindness
tolerance, fairness and room for
all views
in our society,
these would be most welcome news

[ShellyintheWest]

01:22 PM on 08/11/2011

Please, don't sell people short. Most people are looking for honest, honorable and spiritual types of leaders. The brand of religion doesn't matter. Only the small minded will use that as a crutch. Obama has been a perfect example of what happens when people focus on the brand of religion...it tends to backfire and come off as discriminatory. Of course, everyone should do a self check and look for the patterns of one's life, not the name of that person's church.

[Socalman]

12:54 PM on 08/11/2011

I have no issue with people who want to have an imaginary friend who they can chat with and that makes them feel better in times of stress. However, I draw a sharp line when it comes to anyone at any time wanting to impose their religious views on society or the use of them in evaluating anything to do with politics or public policy.

[davidinct]

12:54 PM on 08/11/2011

To my way of thinking, Republican candidates running for office can EITHER advocate for cuts to vital social programs like Medicare and WIC, OR they can claim to be Christians. But to pursue BOTH paths is, I think, pure hypocrisy on their part.

[dick freebird]

12:48 PM on 08/11/2011

I vote against anyone who makes their religion a platform
plank or even a photo op. My theory is that anyone who
makes their personal life a credential for government service,
probably wants government messing with mine.

[redmaple]

12:29 PM on 08/11/2011

Religion: holding back humanity for generations.