The 2000 presidential race will be remembered not only as one of the closest in American history, but also for the unusual prominence of religion in the campaign. From George W. Bush’s proclamation of Jesus Christ as his favorite political philosopher to Joseph Lieberman’s quotations from Hebrew Scripture, religious rhetoric and resources played an important role in appeals to America’s diverse faiths.

But how did the faithful vote? A just completed national survey offers some answers. The survey was directed by Dr. John C. Green at the University of Akron for the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and supported by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

The statistical results indicated these patterns:

*The closeness of the election resulted in large part from a polarization both between and within the major religious communities. The mobilization of key religious voting blocs was critical to this polarization.

* The Republican vote was anchored by very strong support from the most traditional white evangelical Protestants, and included backing from the most traditional members of the mainline Protestant and Catholic communities.

* In contrast, the Democratic vote drew on very strong support from black Protestants, and included backing from other religious minorities, less traditional Christians, and secular voters.

John Green, professor of political science at Akron and co-director of the survey, explained that the closeness of the contest reflected both old and new voting patterns among major religious groups. While Bush and Gore successfully mobilized the core religious constituencies of their parties, Green said, they also further polarized the faithful. The Bush vote came substantially from Protestants and more observant white Catholics; the Gore vote from secular voters, members of minority faiths, and less observant and non-Protestant white Christians.

Respondent John DiIulio of the University of Pennsylvania, who was subsequently chosen by President Bush to head his administration's new Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, stressed the importance of the survey's finding "that the religiously observant voted for Bush and the less observant voted for Gore." He noted that the level of religious observance did not trump race, however. Race is the variable "peeking out from behind" the religious variable, DiIulio said, and party identification, ideology, and economic factors also continue to affect voting behavior.

Moderated by Center vice president Michael Cromartie, the ensuing exchange focused on the relative significance of numerous religious, moral, cultural, ethnic, age, and geographical divisions within the American electorate.

The seminar is available as a Center Conversation (#10), which can be viewed here: How the Faithful Voted.

John C. Green is Director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics and Professor of Political Science at the University of Akron. His research has focused broadly on political parties, interest groups, and social movements, with an emphasis on the role of religion in politics and campaign finance. He is the co-author of two books: The Bully Pulpit: The Politics of Protestant Ministers (University Press of Kansas, 1997) and Religion and the Culture Wars: Dispatches from the Front (Rowman & Littlefield, 1996). He also has edited twelve books, including The Bible and the Ballot Box: Religion and Politics in the 1988 Election (Westview Press, 1991).

John DiIulio is the Frederick Fox Leadership Professor of Politics, Religion, and Civil Society at the University of Pennsylvania. He previously taught at Princeton, in the department of government and politics. [A few days after this seminar, on January 29, 2000, John DiIulio was appointed director of the new White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.]

Participants

Fred Barnes, The Weekly Standard
Michael Barone, U.S. News & World Report
Stephen Bates, Wilson Quarterly
Helle Bering-Jensen, Washington Times
William Blakemore, ABC News
Karlyn Bowman, American Enterprise Institute
Barbara Bradley, National Public Radio
Bill Broadway, Washington Post
Bill Connery, World & I
Alan Crippen, Family Research Council
Elizabeth Crowley, Wall Street Journal
Lee Davidson, Deseret News
Claudia Deane, Washington Post
John Dillin, Christian Science Monitor
Julia Duin, Washington Times
Nina Easton, author, Gang of Five
Larry Eichel, Philadelphia Inquirer
Hillel Fradkin, American Enterprise Institute
Robin Gradison, ABC World News Tonight
John Harwood, Wall Street Journal
Jody Hassett, ABC World News Tonight
Melinda Henneberger, New York Times
Deal Hudson, Crisis
Bob Jones, World
John Judis, The New Republic
Mary Leonard, Boston Globe
Tod Lindberg, Policy Review
Joe Loconte, Heritage Foundation
Michel Martin, ABC News Nightline
Terry Mattingly, Scripps Howard News Service
Anne Morse, BreakPoint Radio
Carlyle Murphy, Washington Post
Kate O'Beirne, National Review
John Omicinski, Gannett News Service
Richard Ostling, Associated Press
Mona Charen Parker, syndicated columnist
Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review
Thomas Pratt, Prison Fellowship Minsitries
Jonathan Riskind, Columbus Dispatch
Sharon Samber, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.
Gerald Seib, Wall Street Journal
Robert Shogan, Los Angeles Times
David Shribman, Boston Globe
Richard Starr, The Weekly Standard
Melana Zyla Vickers, USA Today
Steve Wagner, QEV Analytics
Claudia Winkler, The Weekly Standard
Larry Witham, Washington Times
Adam Wolfson, Public Interest
Stacey Zolt, Scripps Howard News Service