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Democrats: Losing their Religion

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mwkruse
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Black, White and Gray: Democrats: Losing their Religion

Mark Regnerus was running some numbers using New Family Structure Study (NFSS) data when he found out this about people disassociating from religion:

… The most dramatic shifts, however, appear around personal politics. Political affiliation—a one-measure, 1-5 scale of just how politically conservative or liberal our respondents consider themselves—takes the cake for shifting the bar on perceived growth or decline in organized religious involvement. Only 23 percent of respondents who said they were “very conservative” politically reported being less active in organized religion today, while 31 percent said they were more active than as a youth. Keep in mind that’s compared with 53 and 13 percent of the total population, respectively.

It’s a linear association, too: 48 percent of just plain “conservative” respondents reported being less active religiously, compared with 52 percent of moderates, 62 percent of those who said they were “liberal” and 76 percent of those who self-identified as “very liberal.” That’s quite a span–from 23 percent (among the most conservative) to 76 percent (among the most liberal).

The Democrats truly are losing their religion. Or perhaps these are persons who lost their religion and then decided the Democratic Party seemed most in line with their sentiments. There is probably plenty of both types. …

Comments

4 responses to “Democrats: Losing their Religion”

  1. Dan Avatar
    Dan

    I think that the GOP’s rather tight embrace of specific religious doctrines has created a severe deterrent for the non-religious… or even those that are religious along a strain differing from that of what is dominating the GOP platform from the party, especially given the GOP’s tendency to tightly control their member vs. the Democrats general inability to corral their members in critical issues. It may be a bit of a stretch, but potentially logical, to say that people, non-religious, ‘soft religious’, and differently religious, feel like they would chafe under the strict discipline that the GOP exercises over their membership.

    Reply
  2. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Will Rogers once said, “I don’t belong to an organized political party. I’m a Democrat.” 🙂
    I’m not as a convinced as you are that the Democrats are less controlling there members. Pelosi has done a pretty good job. I heard Evan Bayh interviewed recently and he said one of things he found most distasteful as a moderate was the weekly meetings where the Dem caucus rounded up the troops and pounded into them about complete unanimity. I think controlling polarization is the order of the day all the way around.

    Reply
  3. Dan Avatar
    Dan

    Well, at the same time, at least voting history has shown, that Democratic members of House and Senate frequently join the GOP when it boils down to what individual members vote on when the law comes to a vote. Even, at times, joining the GOP on filibusters as well. Moreover, both parties have requirement for their members to pay a membership fee, but the Democratic party has a far poorer compliance from their members than the GOP does (referring to: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/01/us/politics/01dues.html?pagewanted=all)
    I would contend, alternatively, that the Democratic caucus has started to take more strong-arm tactics because they fail to hold unanimity at critical moments.

    Reply
  4. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Good points!

    Reply

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