Trump Is Driving Catholic Voters Toward Clinton

[sinkspur]

JUL 27, 2016 AT 2:22 PM

Trump Is Driving Catholic Voters Toward Clinton
By Leah Libresco
 

Donald Trump has held onto the support of evangelical Christians even as he has screwed up the name of a book of the Bible, said he doesn’t feel he needs forgiveness for anything, and struggled to answer the question that Jesus posed to Peter: “Who do you say that I am?” But, according to a recent report by Pew, Trump’s doing terribly with Catholic voters, particularly those who are regular churchgoers.



Catholics who attend Mass weekly have increased their support for the Democratic nominee by 22 percentage points relative to 2012. They support Hillary Clinton at about the same rate as fallen-away Catholics; even though among white, non-Hispanic Catholics, those who attend Mass less frequently are slightly more likely to be registered Democrats.

In fact, Trump has done more to drive weekly churchgoers to the Democrats than Clinton has done to attract them. Evangelicals and Catholics who attend church regularly and favor the Democratic nominee consider Clinton a less appealing choice than Obama was.



The share of weekly churchgoing evangelicals who support the Democratic nominee has remained nearly flat from June 2012 to June 2016, but their reasons have changed. Two-thirds of churchgoing evangelical Obama supporters described their vote as “for Obama” rather than “against Romney” but the proportions are exactly flipped for Clinton.

Matthew Schmitz, a Catholic and the literary editor of “First Things,” a journal published by the Institute on Religion and Public Life, excoriated Trump for his “great cruelty toward those who cannot wish themselves into being winners.” But, in Schmitz’s opinion, the two in five Catholics who support Trump may do so because churches have left their parishioners open to Trump, because, “Catholics have failed to articulate a political vision — in either party — that appeals to those left behind by progress.”

[TomSea]

This article has white Evangelicals, why not white Catholics?

That is where there is a divide.

Supposedly Hispanics won't vote for Trump, Hispanics have been a big voting bloc for big government and so on for decades.

[bilo]

Catholics who attend Mass weekly have increased their support for the Democratic nominee by 22 percentage points relative to 2012. They support Hillary Clinton at about the same rate as fallen-away Catholics; even though among white, non-Hispanic Catholics, those who attend Mass less frequently are slightly more likely to be registered Democrats.

I don't believe there is any meaningful "Catholic" vote. Conservative Catholics vote for conservatives and liberal Catholics vote for liberals. The church structure and leadership as a whole is liberal, but when this same leadership comes out against something like obamacare it didn't change the vote in any measurable way.

[mlizzy]

Matthew Schmitz, a Catholic and the literary editor of “First Things,” a journal published by the Institute on Religion and Public Life, excoriated Trump for his “great cruelty toward those who cannot wish themselves into being winners.”

Cruelty? What do you mean, Matthew? He shoots from the hip! "They cannot help the fact they ..."



This tweet still appears on the Donald's Twitter. It is nearing 18,000 retweets.

DJT is supposed to be running for CIC; not Country Clown.

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/516382177798680576?lang=en

[sinkspur]

Catholics who attend Mass weekly have increased their support for the Democratic nominee by 22 percentage points relative to 2012. They support Hillary Clinton at about the same rate as fallen-away Catholics; even though among white, non-Hispanic Catholics, those who attend Mass less frequently are slightly more likely to be registered Democrats.

I don't believe there is any meaningful "Catholic" vote. Conservative Catholics vote for conservatives and liberal Catholics vote for liberals. The church structure and leadership as a whole is liberal, but when this same leadership comes out against something like obamacare it didn't change the vote in any measurable way.

Well, in five of the last six presidential elections, Catholics have voted for the winner.  So the Catholic vote has been "courted" by both parties for a long while.

The proportion of Catholics who are voting against Trump is pretty high. 

[mystery-ak]

The proportion of Catholics who are voting against Trump is pretty high. 

So Catholics are more than happy to vote for abortionists and partial birth abortionists...sorry not buying it and I don't care what the graphs show.

[bilo]

Well, in five of the last six presidential elections, Catholics have voted for the winner.  So the Catholic vote has been "courted" by both parties for a long while.

The proportion of Catholics who are voting against Trump is pretty high.

I think you missed the point I was making. The voting bloc you're pointing at happens to be Catholic. It's not that they are voting a certain way because they are Catholic.

[sinkspur]

So Catholics are more than happy to vote for abortionists and partial birth abortionists...sorry not buying it and I don't care what the graphs show.

Catholics are not voting for crazy.

And Trump is not anti-abortion.  Anybody who believes that is naive.

[sinkspur]

I think you missed the point I was making. The voting bloc you're pointing at happens to be Catholic. It's not that they are voting a certain way because they are Catholic.

The voting bloc that votes reliably for the winner is voting that way this year for some reason.  I think it's because they don't want crazy.

[bilo]

The voting bloc that votes reliably for the winner is voting that way this year for some reason.  I think it's because they don't want crazy.

It's not a voting bloc. It's too diverse a group. You're starting out with a group that already comprises significant portions of the population in mostly blue states. Also, they are found more in the larger electoral states. It's not a reliably measurable group. If they voted as a bloc why did a majority vote for the Rats when their leadership told them they were opposed to obamacare?

[sinkspur]

It's not a voting bloc. It's too diverse a group. You're starting out with a group that already comprises significant portions of the population in mostly blue states. Also, they are found more in the larger electoral states. It's not a reliably measurable group. If they voted as a bloc why did a majority vote for the Rats when their leadership told them they were opposed to obamacare?

Catholics, like most religious groups, don't listen to their leaders and haven't for a very long time.  They're adults; they'll make their own informed decisions.

[Mesaclone]

This poll isn't really about Catholics, it simply reflects the shifting of the Hispanic vote towards the Dems, which began before Trump was the nominee. This poll says very little about other Catholics beyond that particular ethnic bloc.

[TomSea]

Also, with any poll with Catholics, one needs to see if they are "church attending", that affects the situation vs. "just call themselves Catholic."

[NavyCanDo]

So Catholics are more than happy to vote for abortionists and partial birth abortionists...sorry not buying it and I don't care what the graphs show.

Sad but True - Catholics are not single issue voters.  Except for Kerry Vs. Bush they have aligned with Democrats every time. I am not Catholic, so do not speak from experience, but there has been political science research done on the question of why Catholics who are strongly against abortion tend to vote Democrat. It largely comes down to their strong support of government social welfare programs and now add Obamacare to the mix. Then each election year  you have the fear mongering that the Republicans want the poor and downtrodden to die in the streets, not able to get into the hospital. The fear of that happening my guess overshadows what is happening at abortion clinics.

[Fantom]

Meh, this Catholic..former Alter Boy, is not voting for trump or Hillary. Those snakes can play it out however.

As for Hispanics..that may be part of it, and then there are the fake East Coast Catholics... the Kennedy/Kerry types.

Make of it what you will.

[hiram1950]

I always knew I wasn't with the program. I'm a church attending Catholic. I plan to vote for Trump.

[sinkspur]

This poll isn't really about Catholics, it simply reflects the shifting of the Hispanic vote towards the Dems, which began before Trump was the nominee. This poll says very little about other Catholics beyond that particular ethnic bloc.

Catholics have been voting for Democrats, for the most part, for years, until George W. Bush.  Voted for him twice.  And yes, Bush picked up Hispanics, but that's because he didn't drive them away by calling them rapists.

White Catholics are big on social justice issues, which are in the Democrat's wheelhouse.  Especially this year, since Trump wants to build walls and keep an entire religious group out of the country.

[HootOwl]

I always knew I wasn't with the program. I'm a church attending Catholic. I plan to vote for Trump.

Did this poll come out before the French Priest's throat was slit????   Do they have any brains????  Hillary is as anti-Catholic as they come!!

[Fantom]

Suicide is .. er Abortion is painless.

There is No real Catholic who votes for abortion.  Votes for dem or trump.

[Fantom]

Hillary is as anti-Catholic as they come!!

So is trump.