So much for trying to say that conservative Christians and the Tea Party don’t have common cause. That theory just went KABOOOM!!
Check out the latest poll by the folks over at the Public Religion Research Institute
'Nuff said. Can we please stop with the "Conservative Christians are irrelevant stories" Oy-gevalt.
Here is the headline of the below and then read excerpts below.
Nearly Half of Tea Party Movement also identify with Christian Conservative Movement
Nearly half (47%) of Americans who consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement say they are also part of the Christian conservative or religious right movement. On many important political and social issues, Americans who identify with the Tea Party movement also hold views similar to the views of Americans who identify with the Christian conservative movement, according to findings from the new American Values Survey (AVS) released by Public Religion Research Institute today. The national survey asked Americans about their views on a range of economic, social and religious issues, and the upcoming elections.
"PRRI's American Values Survey found significant overlap between the Tea Party and the Christian conservative movement," said Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute. "Our findings challenge, more than they confirm, the conventional wisdom about the religious makeup and attitudes of Americans who consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement."
Other key findings from the survey include:
– Nearly half (47%) also say they are part of the religious right or conservative Christian movement. Among the more than 8-in-10 (81%) who identify as Christian within the Tea Party movement, 57% also consider themselves part of the Christian conservative movement.
– They make up just 11% of the adult population—half the size of the conservative Christian movement (22%).
– They are mostly social conservatives, not libertarians on social issues. Nearly two-thirds (63%) say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, and less than 1-in-5 (18%) support allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry.
– They are largely Republican partisans. More than three-quarters say they identify with (48%) or lean towards (28%) the Republican Party. More than 8-in-10 (83%) say they are voting for or leaning towards Republican candidates in their districts, and nearly three-quarters (74%) of this group report usually supporting Republican candidates.