I
forget who, but one of the bloggers I read daily made the observation
that the great ironies of this election that there is a Democrat who is all
too willing to talk and demonstrate his faith, and a Republican who is
less likely to talk about his religion.
That's a big shift since
the last Presidential election, and which leverages this atheist and
secularist in a goofy position voting for Obama. Oh well...
Anyway, a new Pew poll on religion in politics today shows more Americans questions the role of religion in secular politics:
That
significant shift in conservative thought has brought the country to a
tipping point on the question: a slim majority of Americans — 52
percent — now think churches should keep out of politics.
That's
an eight percentage point increase over 2004 and the first time a
majority of Americans has held that opinion since Pew officials started
asking the question 12 years ago.
On
this question, the gap between conservatives and liberals is narrowing:
just four years ago, liberals were twice as likely as conservatives to
say churches should stay out of politics. Now, 50 percent of
conservatives and 57 percent of liberals think that. Four years ago, 62
percent of liberals opposed church involvement in politics. Democrats
and Republicans are about even on the question, as well.
From this secularist's perspective – this is encouraging. It is nice to see this element of Conservatism re-assert itself.
(
Ap Story) | (
Pew Poll)