Prof. Terry Mattingly writes today about a supporter of Howard Dean who claims he's a Christian. Regardless of whether that's true, the fact that there is a Religion Gap at the polls is a well-established fact.
Michael Barone in National Journal points out that 42 percent of the electorate attends religious services regularly. Of those 42 percent, 59 percent voted for Bush and 39 percent voted for Gore. I suspect that if we further divided the religious services in terms of theological conservatism that an even starker contrast would emerge. (Not only that, but theologically conservative churches have grown while those considered more liberal have continued to shrink in size.)
Some have criticized conservative Christians for waging a "holy war" based not only on religious beliefs but also on political views. The critics point out, and rightly so, that Jesus wasn't a Republican. Still, it seems silly to refuse to acknowledge that a strong correlation exists between those who reject conservative religious beliefs and those who vote a certain way at the polls. Not only do the predominant liberal views disregard religion, but they are openly hostile toward it. Senator Zell Miller, a Democrat, from Georgia seems to understand that a great many in his party have drifted to the left.
We need to acknowledge that what's at stake in this upcoming Presidential election is the possibility that the way Americans view themselves and the world around them could be dramatically altered. I believe the reason that George W. Bush elicits such strong feelings of animosity from those on the left is precisely because those on the left understand that this election is about something that transcends politics.
Those of us who tend to be more conservative can complain all day about Bush giving the National Endowment for the Arts more money. We can lament his spending spree with the federal government, his steel tariffs, and his creation of the bureacracy called The Dept of Homeland Security, but at the end of the day we need to understand that there is something greater at stake.
For a better understanding of the cultural divide facing America today read David Brooks' article, One Nation, Slightly Divisible.