The Catholic vote

The Catholic vote

At Catholic World News this week, we presented an analysis of George W. Bush’s sales pitch to Catholic voters at the Knights of Columbus convention in Dallas. It was about what you’d expect: championing of his pro-life position, his stance on gay marriage, his faith-based service initiative, his esteem for the Pope. Nothing groundbreaking there.

But one point bears examining. “Catholic voters, once heavily inclined to favor Democratic candidates, have shown more interest in Republicans in recent campaigns, particularly at the presidential level.” However, in 2000 Al Gore actually won the Catholic voter. Yet, when the numbers are broken down we see that there really isn’t a monolithic “Catholic vote.”

Early polls have suggested that the “Catholic vote” is sharply divided, with practicing Catholics at odds with those who have drifted from the faith. President Bush holds a comfortable lead among those Catholics who attend Mass every Sunday, while Senator Kerry has a commanding advantage among those who only occasionally go to Mass.

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