Religious groups and their political leanings

[King of Kensington]

No surprise really - Mormons are about 70% Republican while the most Democratic groups are historically African American congregations and Unitarians.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/23/u-s-religious-groups-and-their-political-leanings/

Probably most notable is the Democratic lean of once reliably Republican mainline groups, Episcopalians and Congregationalists.

[RI]

I always wish these surveys would break apart cultural Catholics and practicing Catholics.

[All Along The Watchtower]

There's a lot of cool stuff when you dig deep into the interactive data sets.

For example, among Evangelical Protestants, there are some significant differences in partisan identification by household income level:

Under $30k: 41% identify as Republican/lean Republican vs. 38% who identify as Democratic/lean Democratic and 21% with no lean.

$30-$50k: 57% identify as Republican/lean Republican vs. 31% who identify as Democratic/lean Democratic and 12% with no lean.

$50k-$99k: 67% identify as Republican/lean Republican vs. 22% who identify as Democratic/lean Democratic and 11% with no lean.

$100k or more: 73% identify as Republican/lean Republican vs. 19% who identify as Democratic/lean Democratic and 8% with no lean.

[DC Al Fine]

I always wish these surveys would break apart cultural Catholics and practicing Catholics.

Agreed. This works on two levels:

1) Catholics don't completely apostatize like Protestants tend to, so you get a lot more irreligious in all but name type identifying with the Catholic church.

2) People who specifically identify as "Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod" or something specific like that are probably going to be more religious, knowledgeable etc, than a generic "Catholic". The specific denomination name serves as a way of splitting out more religious people in a way you can't really do with Catholicism.

[Gass3268]

Yay ELCA!

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

With the Muslim numbers, it's not out of ideology, but because of the current state of the GOP, if it ever returned to pre-9/11 ideology in regards to Muslim and Arab Americans, it will become at least a Lean-R group again.

[YaBoyNY]

With the Muslim numbers, it's not out of ideology, but because of the current state of the GOP, if it ever returned to pre-9/11 ideology in regards to Muslim and Arab Americans, it will become at least a Lean-R group again.

Sure, but that's not gonna happen anytime soon.

[King of Kensington]

I always wish these surveys would break apart cultural Catholics and practicing Catholics.

Agreed. This works on two levels:

1) Catholics don't completely apostatize like Protestants tend to, so you get a lot more irreligious in all but name type identifying with the Catholic church.

2) People who specifically identify as "Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod" or something specific like that are probably going to be more religious, knowledgeable etc, than a generic "Catholic". The specific denomination name serves as a way of splitting out more religious people in a way you can't really do with Catholicism.

It would be interesting to see various Protestant denominations in Canada, the UK, Australia.

[DC Al Fine]

I always wish these surveys would break apart cultural Catholics and practicing Catholics.

Agreed. This works on two levels:

1) Catholics don't completely apostatize like Protestants tend to, so you get a lot more irreligious in all but name type identifying with the Catholic church.

2) People who specifically identify as "Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod" or something specific like that are probably going to be more religious, knowledgeable etc, than a generic "Catholic". The specific denomination name serves as a way of splitting out more religious people in a way you can't really do with Catholicism.

It would be interesting to see various Protestant denominations in Canada, the UK, Australia.

Taking some wild guesses...

Canada
Tories got something like 55% of Protestants in 2011, so I would guess that even the United Church has a bit of a Tory lean and that Evangelicals vote something like 75-80% Tory. Some possible exceptions would be the Salvation Army (mostly in Newfoundland), and maybe Pentecostals.


UK
C of E - Tory
Evangelicals - Bit of a mixed bag (White Troy socons mixed with Labour voting minorities)
Non Anglican/Evangelical Protestants - Lean Lib Dem, although this link might be severed now.

Australia

No idea

[King of Kensington]

CanadaTories got something like 55% of Protestants in 2011, so I would guess that even the United Church has a bit of a Tory lean and that Evangelicals vote something like 75-80% Tory. Some possible exceptions would be the Salvation Army (mostly in Newfoundland), and maybe Pentecostals.

Yeah, although the United Church has an "ultra-liberal" image I don't think its membership - which seems to be made up of largely small-town WASPs - is that left-wing really.  Although there's a visible, urban, educated "Social Gospel" wing.  

Anglicans I would guess are pretty similar, even though they're a bit more conservative than UCC.  But I think they're a bit more overrepresented - or at least were - among the old WASP elite and a little less Social Gospel-y.

In Canada, Baptists are so well represeted in the Maritimes, I wonder if they lean Liberal or if they're still Conservative and their votes are just outweighed by everyone else.

As for the UK, there's a saying that the Labour Party was more influenced by Methodism than by Marx.  Though wasn't Margaret Thatcher also a Methodist?  Furthermore, I believe the Methodists in the UK are more socially conservative than the Church of England (unlike the situation in Canada with UCC/Anglicans) and their numbers have really really declined.

ETA:  Back in the 19th and early 20th century, so-called Nonconformists supported the Liberals. 

[RINO Tom]

There's a lot of cool stuff when you dig deep into the interactive data sets.

For example, among Evangelical Protestants, there are some significant differences in partisan identification by household income level:

Under $30k: 41% identify as Republican/lean Republican vs. 38% who identify as Democratic/lean Democratic and 21% with no lean.

$30-$50k: 57% identify as Republican/lean Republican vs. 31% who identify as Democratic/lean Democratic and 12% with no lean.

$50k-$99k: 67% identify as Republican/lean Republican vs. 22% who identify as Democratic/lean Democratic and 11% with no lean.

$100k or more: 73% identify as Republican/lean Republican vs. 19% who identify as Democratic/lean Democratic and 8% with no lean.

Wow, that's really interesting!!  Not so much that rich evangelicals are staunchly Republican but that poorer ones are that split.  How did you get that deep in the data??  I would love to look at the income numbers for other religions, but I can't seem to figure out how, LOL.

[RINO Tom]

Quick summary for anyone interested (from most Democratic to most Republican, by affiliation):
(M) = Mainline Protestant
(E) = Evangelical Protestant
(B) = Historically Black Protestant

African Methodist Episcopal (B): 92%-4%
National Baptist (B): 87%-5%
Unitarian Universalist: 84%-14%
Church of God in Christ (B): 75%-14%
Atheist: 69%-15%
Buddhist: 69%-16%
Hindu: 61%-13%
Muslim: 62%-17%
Agnostic: 64%-21%
Jewish: 64%-26%
United Church of Christ (M): 58%-31%
Nothing in particular: 49%-26%
Jehovah's Witness: 18%-7%
Orthodox Christian: 44%-34%
Seventh-Day Adventist (E): 45%-35%
Episcopal (M): 39%-49%
ALL US ADULTS: 44%-37%
Catholic: 44%-37%
Lutheran, ELCA (M): 47%-43%
Presbyterian (M): 47%-44%
American Baptist (M): 42%-41%
Church of Christ (E): 50%-39%
Methodist (M): 54%-35%
Anglican (M): 58%-37%
Church of God (E): 52%-26%
Presbyterian in America (E): 60%-34%
Assemblies of God (E): 57%-27%
Lutheran, Missouri Synod (E?): 59%-27%
Southern Baptist (E): 64%-26%
Church of Nazarene (E): 63%-24%
Mormon: 70%-19%

All Historically Black Protestants: 80%-10%
All "Nones": 54%-23%
All Catholics: 54%-37%
All Mainline Protestants: 44%-40%
All Evangelicals: 56%-28%

[King of Kensington]

Wow, that's really interesting!!  Not so much that rich evangelicals are staunchly Republican but that poorer ones are that split.  How did you get that deep in the data??  I would love to look at the income numbers for other religions, but I can't seem to figure out how, LOL.

Isn't there a sizable minority of Hispanics that are evangelical?

ETA:  Yes, and they lean Democratic.

http://www.pewforum.org/2014/05/07/the-shifting-religious-identity-of-latinos-in-the-united-states/

[sparkey]

Why do Adventists tilt D?

[King of Kensington]

Adventists are heavily Black.

[DC Al Fine]

In Canada, Baptists are so well represeted in the Maritimes, I wonder if they lean Liberal or if they're still Conservative and their votes are just outweighed by everyone else.

It depended on where. Heavily Baptist areas in New Brunswick actually stayed Tory for the most part, while in Nova Scotia, they were just less Liberal than the rest of the Liberal sweep.

As for the UK, there's a saying that the Labour Party was more influenced by Methodism than by Marx.  Though wasn't Margaret Thatcher also a Methodist?  Furthermore, I believe the Methodists in the UK are more socially conservative than the Church of England (unlike the situation in Canada with UCC/Anglicans) and their numbers have really really declined.

I couldn't tell you about actual Methodist practice or social conservatism, but Thatcher was raised Methodist, but converted to Anglicanism upon marrying Dennis Thatcher. I don't believe she was particularly religious.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I wouldn't call LCMS "evangelical."  It's solidly mainline--they're not very strict against dancing, cards, etc.

The Democrat edge with SDAs probably has to do with blacks and Hispanics, and fears of evangelicals trying to pass Sunday laws (like what Ellen White predicted in The Great Controversy).

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

But what about emergent SJW hipster hardcore emoviolent postpunk CHristians?

[RINO Tom]

But what about emergent SJW hipster hardcore emoviolent postpunk CHristians?

1/1 = a Democrat.