The online poll, completed by 980 self-identified “evangelical/born again” respondents from January 17 to January 23, showed that 85-percent of evangelicals ranked the economy and “cleaning up government” as the most important or very important issues, compared to 61-percent who said the same about ending abortion and 49-percent who identified “stopping gay marriage” as a top issue.
In some ways, the survey reveals evangelicals to be quite conservative: 41-percent said they were Republican compared to 30-percent who were Democrats; 47-percent said they were conservative versus 14-percent who said they were liberal. Almost 80-percent said they attended church weekly or more than weekly and 84% said the Bible is the “inerrant word of God.”
Generally speaking, however, evangelicals ranked traditionally progressive or Democratic causes as more important than traditionally conservative or Republican ones. Twenty three percent said their views had become less positive about Republicans, twice the number who said they’d soured on Democrats, though half of respondents said they had become less positive about both parties. Almost 60-percent said they favored a more progressive evangelical agenda focused more on protecting the environment, tackling HIV/AIDs, and alleviating poverty and less on abortion and homosexuality.
“The poll was promoted on Beliefnet’s web site and through its newsletters. Respondents weren’t told that this was a poll of evangelicals, but Beliefnet culled these responses from those who said they were ‘evangelical or born again.'”
Caveat lector. There is no way that Beliefnet readers are a typical sampling of evangelicals or any other religious group. Also, where are the comparisons to the general population? Without knowing how the population as a whole ranks these issues or feels about the two parties, the significance of these findings, in the unlikely event they had any to begin with, is obscured.
the evangelical achilles heel is the love of ‘defying authority’ and ‘doing one’s own thing’. In part this is what has influenced the Anglican church to beleive they have the right to break with tradition when it feels good. Please understand my point- many evangelicals are good holy people…but that reformation ‘I won’t wear robes if i don’t want to’ attitude leads to too great an autonomy…in my humble opinion
I concur with #2. I once asked an Episcopal Bishop what’s the source of all this turmoil within TEC viz-a-viz the AC. He didn’t hesitate in his response, “You see once a people have disobeyed it’s very hard for them to obey again.” He may have been speaking of the fall but from my side of the river I wondered if he was referring to the Reformation. Excuse me, may have been wishful thinking on my part.
the roman:
more like magical thinking
Then, too, let’s not forget that William Jennings Bryan was a true evangelical; his combination of social conservatism and populist economics is still reasonably common in evangelical circles. At least if my in-laws (conservative Southern Baptists, and Labor Democrats) are any indication.