1. Types of survey questions
a. Trying to gauge role religion plays in their life [[values questions]]
(how important is prayer/does it influence your social views [firing
homosexual teachers/old fashioned values/women traditional roles
in society]
b. Specifics about conception of God [[religious beliefs questions]]
[never doubt existence of god; all will be called before god at
judgment day; clear guidelines on good/evil that apply to everyone]
2. Partisan Differences
a. Religious Belief Questions
i. partisan gap over religious beliefs substantial
1. 81% republicans agree w all 3 religious beliefs
questions, 62% democrats & 61% independents
ii. widening ideological differences among democrats over
statement “I never doubt the existence of god”
1. liberal democrats has fallen by 13 points since 2007
[from 73% to 60%]
2. conservative/moderate democrats continue to say
never dobut God’s existence [86%]
b. Values Questions
i. republicans more likely than democrats/independents to hold
socially conservative views
ii. “I have old-fashioned values about family and marriage”
1. republicans agree 80%; democrats 60%; independents
72%
2. similar ideological split between democrats as observed
in religious belief questions
a. conservative/moderate democrats: 70%
b. liberal democrats 44%
3. Changes over time
a. though the partisan gap regarding religious belief is noteworthy this
isn’t a recent development
i. 2007 study had similar statistics
ii. compare to first study in 1987; only modest differences among
the parties [republicans 71%, democrats 69%, independents
64%]
b. values beliefs changed significantly but more stringently on the side of
the democrats
i. “school boards ought to have the right to fire teachers who are
known homosexuals”
1. 1987 50% of democrats said yes; by 2012 16% said so
2. 1987 59% of republicans agreed; by 2012 29% said so
ii. “women should return to traditional roles in society”
1. 1987 33% of democrats said yes; by 2012 16% said so
2. 1987 31% of republicans agreed; by 2012 21% said so
4. differences among parties in worldview
a. Strength of clear-cut values beliefs was also noteworthy. 85% of
polled republicans agreed that there are clear guidelines about good
or evil that apply to everyone despite situation, whereas only 70% of
democrats would agree. Interesting to note such a black/white divide.
5. There was a significant age gap regarding religious beliefs; perhaps more
noteworthy than the partisan divide.
a. 68% of millenials never doubt the existence of God – a decline of 15
points since 2007
i. meanwhile, the proportion of older people polled has
remained consistent
b. only 55% of millenials agreed with all three religious values
i. meanwhile among the older populations polled, over 2/3
agreed with all three.
c. Older groups sampled were also far more likely to hold old fashioned
views about family/marriage;
i. 84% of the 65+ age range agreed
ii. compare to only 60% of the 18-29 age group
iii. these numbers are especially significant when compared to
1987 numbers, in which 83% of this younger group agreed
d. Interestingly enough, there was little gender divide regarding women
returning to traditional roles in society; this has stayed consistent
across time
i. 1987: 30% of females agreed as did 29% of males
ii. 2012: 18% of females agreed as did 18% of males
6. Implications
a. It is unsurprising that the Democratic party should have managed to
mobilize women
i. Difference regarding answer to question fo women returning
to traditional roles in society – though the divide is small
enough that it is difficult to state the extent to which this has
influenced policy among the parties [ 21% of repulbicans
agree; compare to 16% of democrats and independents]
ii. More significant is the greater divide in religious beliefs
mentioned above – and possible implications for women’s
reproductive rights [in which we see a clear, undisputable
divide in policy preference between the parties]
b. The question of clear-cut values “that apply to everyone regardless of
situation” might be also reflected in each party’s policies. 85% of
polled republicans agreed that there are clear guidelines about good
or evil that apply to everyone despite situation, whereas only 70% of
democrats would agree. This could possibly be reflected in democratic
positions which tend to be more supportive of rights of criminals [e.g.
fighting felony disenfranchisement; though this could also be due to
the fact that this group often supports the democratic party – so these
motivations feed off each other to a degree]. I feel this response is also
manifested in positions towards illegal immigrants, where democrats
tend to enact more sympathetic policies than their republican
counterparts.
7. Surprises
a. I found responses to the question of banning books unexpected. As the
Republican party is often characterized as that of individual liberties,
it was interesting to note that 46% would support banning books
today [not significantly different from the numbers in 87, in which
52% would agree]. Meanwhile democrats were less supportive of the
move, with 38% agreeing [and only 36% of independents doing so]