How Liberals and Conservatives Differ on Matters of Faith

“Most liberals, as well as conservatives, consider themselves to be Christian. However, the proportion of adults in each group who embrace that identity differs significantly: 94% of conservatives call themselves Christians, while just 74% of liberals do so.

“The research shows that nearly one-third of all adults (32%) consider themselves to be ‘mostly conservative’ on social and political matters, and about half as many (17%) claimed to be “mostly liberal” on such matters. The other half of the adult population generally takes a position somewhere in between those opposing viewpoints.”

Source: Barna Research

How People of Faith Voted in the 2008 Presidential Race

“Overall, two-thirds of all registered voters (67%) said they followed the 2008 election campaign ‘very closely’ and another one-quarter (27%) followed it ‘somewhat closely.’ People who do not consider themselves to be Christians followed the campaign slightly more closely than did those who claim to be Christian (71% versus 67%).

“To place that interest level in context, the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, which ended in a dead heat, was followed “very closely” by just 43% of registered voters.

“Evangelicals chose their candidate on a different set of indicators than did other voters. When asked their primary reason for supporting the candidate they selected, 40% of evangelicals said it was because of the candidate’s position on moral issues. Only 9% of other voters listed that as their driving reason. Other significant reasons for evangelical voters included their candidate’s political experience (23%) and his character (15%).

“However, born again Christians in general chose their candidate based on different criteria than did evangelicals. The major motivations among born again Christians who are not evangelical were political experience (20%), ideas about the country’s future (18%), character (17%), and economic policies (17%). To highlight the contrast in priorities, note that just 7% of evangelicals identified economic policy as a motivator, and only 8% of the non-evangelical born again Christians listed the candidate’s positions on moral issues.”

Source: Barna Research, “How People of Faith Voted in the 2008 Presidential Race” November 11, 2008