Poll Watch: Pew Research Survey on Religion and Politics

Pew Research Poll on Religion & Politics

In your opinion, should churches and other houses of worship express their views on day-to-day social and political questions – or should they keep out of political matters?

• Should express views 40%
• Should keep out 54%

Do you think there has been too much, too little or the right amount of expressions of religious faith and prayer by political leaders?

• Too much 38%
• Too little 30%
• Right amount 25%

As I name some groups, please tell me whether you feel each one is generally friendly toward religion, neutral toward religion, or unfriendly toward religion.

The Democratic Party

• Friendly 35%
• Neutral 36%
• Unfriendly 21%

The Republican Party

• Friendly 54%
• Neutral 24%
• Unfriendly 13%

 



The Obama administration

• Friendly 39%
• Neutral 32%
• Unfriendly 23%

University professors

• Friendly 14%
• Neutral 37%
• Unfriendly 32%

News reporters and the news media

• Friendly 19%
• Neutral 38%
• Unfriendly 35%

Please tell me how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. Do you completely agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree, or completely disagree?

Religious conservatives have too much control over the Republican Party

• Completely agree 21%
• Mostly agree 30%
• Mostly disagree 27%
• Completely disagree 13%

Liberals who are not religious have too much control over the Democratic Party

• Completely agree 12%
• Mostly agree 28%
• Mostly disagree 30%
• Completely disagree 19%

Survey of 1,503 adults was conducted March 7-11, 2012. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.

Poll Watch: Quinnipiac Pennsylvania Survey on Gov. Corbett and Abortion

Quinnipiac Pennsylvania Survey on Gov. Corbett and Abortion

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tom Corbett is handling his job as Governor?

• Approve 41%
• Disapprove 41%

Among Democrats

• Approve 23%
• Disapprove 65%

Among Republicans

• Approve 61%
• Disapprove 18%

Among Independents

• Approve 46%
• Disapprove 36%

College Degree

• Approve 40%
• Disapprove 49%

No College Degree

• Approve 42%
• Disapprove 37%

Do you think abortion should be legal in all cases, legal in most cases, illegal in most cases or illegal in all cases?

• Legal in all cases 25%
• Legal in most cases 29%
• Illegal in most cases 23%
• Illegal in all cases 14%

Among Democrats

• Legal in all cases 33%
• Legal in most cases 35%
• Illegal in most cases 14%
• Illegal in all cases 9%

Among Republicans

• Legal in all cases 12%
• Legal in most cases 19%
• Illegal in most cases 39%
• Illegal in all cases 25%

Among Independents

• Legal in all cases 31%
• Legal in most cases 34%
• Illegal in most cases 18%
• Illegal in all cases 11%

College Degree

• Legal in all cases 30%
• Legal in most cases 34%
• Illegal in most cases 20%
• Illegal in all cases 12%

No College Degree

• Legal in all cases 23%
• Legal in most cases 27%
• Illegal in most cases 24%
• Illegal in all cases 16%

Age 18-49

• Legal in all cases 30%
• Legal in most cases 30%
• Illegal in most cases 25%
• Illegal in all cases 11%

Age 50-64

• Legal in all cases 25%
• Legal in most cases 31%
• Illegal in most cases 20%
• Illegal in all cases 14%

Age 65+

• Legal in all cases 17%
• Legal in most cases 25%
• Illegal in most cases 25%
• Illegal in all cases 21%

Among Men

• Legal in all cases 21%
• Legal in most cases 33%
• Illegal in most cases 27%
• Illegal in all cases 11%

Among Women

• Legal in all cases 29%
• Legal in most cases 26%
• Illegal in most cases 19%
• Illegal in all cases 18%

As you may know, the state legislature is considering a bill that would legally require women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound at least 24 hours before the procedure. Do you support or oppose this bill?

• Support 42%
• Oppose 48%

Among Democrats

• Support 30%
• Oppose 60%

Among Republicans

• Support 58%
• Oppose 32%

Among Independents

• Support 37%
• Oppose 53%

College Degree

• Support 35%
• Oppose 57%

No College Degree

• Support 45%
• Oppose 44%

Think Abortion Should Be Legal in All/Most Cases

• Support 28%
• Oppose 67%

Think Abortion Should Be Illegal in Most/All Cases

• Support 66%
• Oppose 25%

In most cases a trans-vaginal ultrasound would be required due to the early stage of pre-abortion pregnancies. A trans-vaginal ultra sound requires vaginal insertion of a probe. Do you support or oppose legally requiring trans-vaginal ultrasounds before a woman can get an abortion?

• Support 23%
• Oppose 64%

Among Democrats

• Support 16%
• Oppose 73%

Among Republicans

• Support 38%
• Oppose 47%

Among Independents

• Support 16%
• Oppose 72%

College Degree

• Support 20%
• Oppose 70%

No College Degree

• Support 24%
• Oppose 61%

Think Abortion Should Be Legal in All/Most Cases

• Support 13%
• Oppose 81%

Think Abortion Should Be Illegal in Most/All Cases

• Support 40%
• Oppose 44%

Survey of 1,256 registered voters was conducted March 7-12, 2012. The margin of error is +/- 2.8 percentage points. Party ID: 37% Democrat; 32% Republican; 25% Independent; 6% Other.

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Rick Santorum on Meet the Press

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Newt Gingrich on Piers Morgan Tonight

Poll Watch: Christopher Newport University/Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia Political Survey

Christopher Newport University/Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia Political Poll

Do you generally support requiring women to have an ultrasound procedure before seeking an abortion?

• Support ultrasound requirement 36.2%
• Oppose ultrasound requirement 54.6%

Among Democrats

• Support ultrasound requirement 27.1%
• Oppose ultrasound requirement 67.9%

Among Republicans

• Support ultrasound requirement 58.0%
• Oppose ultrasound requirement 32.5%

Among Independents

• Support ultrasound requirement 28.5%
• Oppose ultrasound requirement 60.9%

Among Men

• Support ultrasound requirement 33.6%
• Oppose ultrasound requirement 53.1%

Among Women

• Support ultrasound requirement 38.7%
• Oppose ultrasound requirement 56.0%

Do you support defining life as beginning at conception or do you oppose this idea?

• Support defining life at conception 40.7%
• Oppose defining life at conception 51.9%

Among Democrats

• Support defining life at conception 27.4%
• Oppose defining life at conception 67.2%

Among Republicans

• Support defining life at conception 65.0%
• Oppose defining life at conception 28.4%

Among Independents

• Support defining life at conception 32.7%
• Oppose defining life at conception 59.0%

Among Men

• Support defining life at conception 38.4%
• Oppose defining life at conception 51.2%

Among Women

• Support defining life at conception 42.6%
• Oppose defining life at conception 52.5%

Should the one-gun-per-month ban be lifted on handguns?

• Ban should be lifted 31.1%
• Ban should remain 66.0%

Among Democrats

• Ban should be lifted 25.2%
• Ban should remain 72.3%

Among Republicans

• Ban should be lifted 35.4%
• Ban should remain 61.7%

Among Independents

• Ban should be lifted 31.9%
• Ban should remain 65.7%

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President?

• Approve 43.0%
• Disapprove 53.1%

Survey of 1,018 registered Virginia voters was conducted February 4-13, 2012 by the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points.

Rick Santorum on Face the Nation

Paul Ryan and Chris Van Hollen on Meet the Press

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Rick Santorum on "CBS This Morning"

Santorum: Not responsible for Friess' "bad joke"

SANTORUM: "I think that pre-marital sex...is a very dangerous and at-risk behavior."

Rick Santorum on Meet the Press

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Newt Gingrich on The O'Reilly Factor

Newt Gingrich on Face the Nation (Part 1)

The Best of Christopher Hitchens

Part 1

Part 2


H/T: JediJesseS

Trial of the Will
Reviewing familiar principles and maxims in the face of mortal illness, Christopher Hitchens has found one of them increasingly ridiculous: “Whatever doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” Oh, really? Take the case of the philosopher to whom that line is usually attributed, Friedrich Nietzsche, who lost his mind to what was probably syphilis. Or America’s homegrown philosopher Sidney Hook, who survived a stroke and wished he hadn’t. Or, indeed, the author, viciously weakened by the very medicine that is keeping him alive.
By Christopher Hitchens, Vanity Fair
January 2012

Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011: In Memoriam -Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair

Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011 - David Frum, Frum Forum

Polemicist Who Slashed All, Freely, Dies at 62 - William Grimes, New York Times

Postscript: Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011 - Christopher Buckley. The New Yorker

Christopher Hitchens: A Reading List - Alex Koppelman, The New Yorker

Sneaking Into Iraq With Hitchens
And smuggling in booze, too. - Matt Labash, Slate

“Eeyorish”
Anyone who believes in the power of words will miss Hitchens. - Anne Applebaum, Slate

RIP Christopher Hitchens: Provocateur and Damn Good Writer — Monika Bauerlein, Mother Jones

Christopher Hitchens, Author and Television Personality, Dies at 62 - ABC News

Christopher Hitchens: my hero of 2010
A gentleman and a truly formidable debater, Christopher Hitchens is a giant of the mind and a model of courage - Richard Dawkins


Christopher Hitchens Dies: His Best Writing, Photos, and More
Christopher Hitchens, perhaps the greatest essayist of our age, lost his battle with esophageal cancer at age 62. The Daily Beast looks back on his life.

The Longform.org Guide to Christopher Hitchens
A great journalist’s greatest magazine stories. -Max Linsky, Slate

Rick Perry: The Anti-Establishment Clause Candidate

DES MOINES REGISTER: Just to clarify on this point, when you talk about a Day of Prayer, or permitting prayer in schools, are you talking specifically about Christian prayer, or are you saying non-denominational prayer?

PERRY: What I’m saying is it’s not the government’s business to be telling folks that, at the state level, if a – obviously, if a school is a Jewish school in Dallas, Texas, they should be able, I mean, that private school should be able to do that.

DES MOINES REGISTER: But, they can as a private school. The issue here has to do with public schools.

PERRY: Well, then, the independent school boards that oversee those [public schools] should make the decisions, not the government. Again, I mean, the idea that we have to be so politically correct that there’s one family that says, ‘Listen, I don’t want my child--,’ then that child ought to have the freedom to be, you know, can sit over there and play tic-tac-toe or what have you.  But the issue is that for Washington to tell a local school district that you cannot have a prayer and a time of prayer in that school, I think is offensive to most Americans. I trust the people of the states to make those decisions. I trust those independent school districts to make those decisions better than eight unelected and frankly unaccountable judges. And it’s one of the reasons that I’ve called for the end of lifetime appointments to federal judgeships, and go to some set term.

H/T: The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen:

Let’s count the errors of fact and judgment, because this a doozy.

1. There are nine Supreme Court justices, not eight.

2. When public school boards make policy decisions affecting public schools, that is “the government.” It may not be the federal government, but Perry is still calling for government officials — rather than families — to intervene in the religious upbringing of children.

3. Playing tic-tac-toe is very hard for one person to do by himself or herself.

4. In the United States, we don’t make decisions about religious liberty based on majority rule or popularity contests. Here’s a question for Perry to ponder: if an evangelical Christian family sent their daughter to a public school in a predominantly Muslim neighborhood, would Perry want her to sit in a corner playing tic-tac-toe while the rest of the class prayed towards Mecca, or would he want the public school to remain religiously neutral?

Perry Flubs Justice Sotomayor's Name
GOP contender Rick Perry can't remember Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Rick Perry's Homophobic 2012 Ad: "Strong"

Watch The Second City Network's Reaction To Rick Perry's Homophobic Ad

Rick Perry, Nelson Warfield, and the Gays - By David Weigel, Slate
Rick Perry and the Gays, Part II (Full Sequence) - By David Weigel, Slate

Rick Perry's Anti-Gay Iowa Ad Divides His Top Staff - By Sam Stein, Huffington Post

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Poll Watch: PPP (D) Mississippi 'Personhood Amendment' Survey

PPP (D) Mississippi 'Personhood Amendment' Survey

Initiative 26 would define the term “person” to include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the equivalent thereof. If the election was today, would you vote yes or no on Initiative 26?

• Yes 45%
• No 44%

Among Republicans

• Yes 65%
• No 28%

Among Democrats

• Yes 23%
• No 61%

Among Independents

• Yes 35%
• No 51%

Among Men

• Yes 48%
• No 42%

Among Women

• Yes 42%
• No 46%

Among Whites

• Yes 54%
• No 37%

Among Blacks

• Yes 26%
• No 59%

Very Conservative

• Yes 72%
• No 21%

Somewhat Conservative

• Yes 47%
• No 41%

Moderate

• Yes 20%
• No 67%

Survey of 796 likely voters was conducted November 4-6, 2011. The margin of error is +/- 3.5 percentage points. Party ID breakdown: 47% Republican; 39% Democrat; 14% Independent/Other. Political ideology: 32% Very conservative; 25% Somewhat conservative; 21% Moderate; 12% Very liberal; 10% Somewhat liberal. Race: 66% White; 30% Black.

Poll Watch: Rasmussen Political Ideology Survey

Rasmussen Political Ideology Survey

Many people have different ideological perspectives on fiscal issues and social issues. When it comes to fiscal issues such as taxes, government spending and business regulation, are you politically conservative, moderate, or liberal?

• Conservative 44% {44%} [44%] (43%)
• Moderate 40% {40%} [39%] (38%)
• Liberal 11% {12%} [14%] (13%)

When it comes to social issues like abortion, public prayer, and Church-state topics, are you politically conservative, moderate, or liberal?

• Conservative 35% {40%} [37%] (36%)
• Liberal 31% {31%} [30%] (29%)
• Moderate 30% {26%} [30%] (31%)

Survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted September 14-15, 2011. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.  Results from the poll conducted July 10-11, 2011 are in curly brackets.  Results from the poll conducted June 4-5, 2011 are in square brackets.  Results from the poll conducted May 5-6, 2011 are in parentheses.

Inside the numbers:

Twenty-nine percent (29%) remain conservative on both fiscal and social issues. 

Men are more fiscally and socially conservative than women are. 

Among Republicans, 74% are fiscal conservatives and 61% social conservatives. Among Democrats, 55% say they’re fiscal moderates, and a plurality (48%) are social liberals. Voters not affiliated with either party are generally either conservative or moderate fiscally and fairly closely divided on social issues. 

Eighty-three percent (83%) of fiscal conservatives are also socially conservative. But just 33% of fiscal liberals say they are liberal on social issues.

Poll Watch: Rasmussen Political Ideology Survey

Rasmussen Political Ideology Survey

Many people have different ideological perspectives on fiscal issues and social issues. When it comes to fiscal issues such as taxes, government spending and business regulation, are you politically conservative, moderate, or liberal?

• Conservative 44% [44%] (43%)
• Moderate 40% [39%] (38%)
• Liberal 12% [14%] (13%)

When it comes to social issues like abortion, public prayer, and Church-state topics, are you politically conservative, moderate, or liberal?

• Conservative 40% [37%] (36%)
• Liberal 31% [30%] (29%)
• Moderate 26% [30%] (31%)

Survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted July 10-11, 2011. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.  Results from the poll conducted June 4-5, 2011 are in parentheses.  Results from the poll conducted May 5-6, 2011 are in parentheses.

Inside the numbers:

Voters remain slightly more conservative when it comes to fiscal policy than they are on social issues, while 29% still say they are conservative in both areas.

Males tend to be more conservative than females on both fiscal and social issues. Voters over 40 are more conservative both fiscally and socially than those who are younger. 

Seventy-eight percent (78%) of Republicans are fiscal conservatives, while a majority (56%) of Democrats and a plurality (46%) of voters not affiliated with either major party see themselves as moderates on money issues. 

As for social issues, 65% of GOP voters are conservatives, while 54% of Democrats are liberals. Unaffiliated voters are closely divided.

Poll Watch: Rasmussen Political Ideology Survey

Rasmussen Political Ideology Survey

Many people have different ideological perspectives on fiscal issues and social issues. When it comes to fiscal issues such as taxes, government spending and business regulation, are you politically conservative, moderate, or liberal?

• Conservative 44% (43%)
• Moderate 39% (38%)
• Liberal 14% (13%)

When it comes to social issues like abortion, public prayer, and Church-state topics, are you politically conservative, moderate, or liberal?

• Conservative 37% (36%)
• Moderate 30% (31%)
• Liberal 30% (29%)

Survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted June 4-5, 2011. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.  Results from the poll conducted May 5-6, 2011 are in parentheses.

Inside the numbers:

Voters remain more conservative when it comes to money than they are on social policy, but 29% still say they are conservative in both areas. 

Just 11% of Likely U.S. Voters claim to be both fiscal and social liberals. 

Among voters who say they are conservative on fiscal issues, 77% say they are also conservative when it comes to social issues. 

Fifty percent (50%) of male voters are fiscal conservatives, compared to 38% of female voters. Women are more inclined to be moderates in this area. But there is virtually no ideological disagreement between the two with regards to social issues. 

Voters over 40 are more conservative both fiscally and socially than those who are younger. 

Seventy-four percent (74%) of Republicans are fiscal conservatives, while a plurality (47%) of both Democrats and voters not affiliated with either major party see themselves as moderates on money issues. 

As for social issues, 63% of GOP voters are conservatives, while 48% of Democrats are liberals. Unaffiliated voters are closely divided.

Poll Watch: Rasmussen Political Ideology Survey

Rasmussen Political Ideology Survey

Many people have different ideological perspectives on fiscal issues and social issues. When it comes to fiscal issues such as taxes, government spending and business regulation, are you politically conservative, moderate, or liberal?

• Conservative 43%
• Moderate 38%
• Liberal 13%

When it comes to social issues like abortion, public prayer, and Church-state topics, are you politically conservative, moderate, or liberal?

• Conservative 36%
• Moderate 31%
• Liberal 29%

Survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted May 5-6, 2011. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.

Inside the numbers:

Seventy-nine percent (79%) of Republicans say they are fiscal conservatives. Among Democrats, 50% say they are moderate on money issues, while 28% view themselves as fiscal liberals. As for voters not affiliated with either party, 48% say they’re fiscal moderates, and 33% think of themselves as conservatives in this area. 

When it comes to social policy, 66% of GOP voters say they are conservative, while 54% of Democrats regard themselves as social liberals. Unaffiliated voters are narrowly divided ideologically when it comes to social issues. 

Male voters are more conservative than female voters on both fiscal and social issues. Younger voters are more liberal in both areas than those who are older. 

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of likely voters characterize themselves as both fiscal and social conservatives. By contrast, only 10% of Likely U.S. Voters say they are liberal in both areas. 

Voters continue to believe tax cuts and decreases in government spending will benefit the nation’s economy. 

When it comes to abortion, 50% of voters consider themselves pro-choice, while 40% say they are pro-life.