“I’m Pagan and I Vote”
Old Town Alexandria, Northern Virginia—Jogging through this gorgeous, historic town the first Saturday after the Tuesday vote, which elected the most leftist presidential candidate in American history, it isn’t difficult to see how the typically Republican state of Virginia went Democrat in 2008. The sheer volume of “Obama-Biden†signs in the windows of BMWs and million-dollar townhouses is stunning, surpassed only by dogs on leashes—and in direct contrast to the conspicuous lack of children.
Likewise, the bumper stickers on Lexuses on cobblestone streets offer a tutorial on the force of liberal migration to Northern Virginia. They shout out a visceral hatred of George W. Bush—plus much more. As I ventured closer to the DC border, one particular bumper sticker caught my eye: “I’m Pagan and I Vote.â€
That, too, is telling—and worthy of careful consideration, especially given its failure to register among the press. Once again, in this presidential election, non-religious Americans came out in large numbers, and again cast ballots overwhelmingly for the Democratic nominee. As these citizens become more bold and vocal—evidenced by the spate of bestselling atheistic books in the last few years—they can no longer be ignored.
Before considering the data, I want to be very clear: Obviously, I’m not saying that if you voted for Barack Obama, you’re an atheist. Quite the contrary, Obama won the presidency because so many believers voted for him. According to CNN exit polls, 45 percent of Protestants and 53 percent of Catholics voted for Obama, as did 78 percent of Jews. Please, no angry emails.
What I’m saying is that the vast majority of self-described non-religious voting Americans went for Obama, and they were decisive.
CNN exit polls found that 76 percent of those who answered “none†when asked about religious affiliation cast ballots for Obama. They comprised 12 percent of voters. That equates to an Obama grab of at least 11 million (generally) non-religious voters—a number notably larger than Obama’s overall popular-vote victory of roughly eight million. That’s a huge advantage for the Democratic nominee, one that gets more powerful every four years.
The contrast is clear when broken down among church attendance. Those who attend church services “once a week†voted for McCain by 55 to 43 percent, while those who attend “a few times a year†went for Obama 59 to 39 percent, and those who “never†go to church voted Obama 67 to 30 percent.
The numbers are consistent among denominations: John McCain actually won Catholics who attend Mass weekly (50 to 49 percent), but was trounced by Catholics who don’t attend weekly (58 to 40 percent). McCain’s largest margin was white evangelical/born-again Christians, which he swept 74 to 24 percent. Yet, even then, that margin was not as wide as those with no religious affiliation who went for Obama.
What’s most significant is that this is nothing new. It is a recent trend gravitating to an increasingly secular Democratic Party.
Consider the 2004 presidential race: According to CNN exit polling, those who attend church more than once per week went for George W. Bush by 63 to 35 percent, or by 11.6 million to 6.4 million votes, a difference of 5.2 million votes; those who said they never attend church went for John Kerry by 64 to 34 percent, or by 11.1 million to 5.9 million votes, also a difference of 5.2 million votes. This was much like the 2000 vote, when those who attended church more than weekly went for Bush by 63 to 36 percent, whereas Vice President Al Gore bagged those who never attended by 61 to 32 percent.
In other words, the religious “values voters†often credited for winning the day for George W. Bush in 2004 and 2000 were effectively countered by non- or less-religious Americans who tried to win the day for John Kerry and Al Gore.
Look at how the 2004 vote broke down in the most important states for Democrats: In California, one in four voters said they never attend church, and they went for Kerry 63 to 34 percent. In New York, the 12 percent of voters who claimed no religion at all voted for Kerry by 78 to 19 percent. Atheists and agnostics are prominent in the two bluest states most important to Democratic presidential nominees.
It is quite telling that liberal journalists are constantly wringing their hands over the evangelical vote, but could care less about the rise of an atheist vote. Whereas evangelicals scare them to death—and are highlighted as a dangerous force—atheists are of no concern whatsoever.
Non-believers have forged a potent voting bloc, probably unprecedented in American history. And while a lot of Republicans push to make the GOP an even bigger “tent,†count me as one who prefers to cede this vote to the Democrats.
Paul Kengor is professor of political science and executive director of the Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. He is author of The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism (HarperPerennial, 2007) and The Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan’s Top Hand (Ignatius Press, 2007).
| More from Dr. Paul Kengor
Stumble It!
November 12th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I just have to say that I’m Pagan and I vote. I also should interject that I am very religious. I wonder why the author equates Paganism with atheism. Non-Abrahamic? Sure. Non-theistic? Not really.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Excuse me for asking this in your post. I don’t know how to contact Mike. I too want to speak up from a Pagan point of view.
Mike …can I please post an article sometimes. I take things very seriously and I promise I will not let you down. You can monitor everything and I will pay towards costs of the site., . I couldn’t care less about credits. Honestly, I don’t. The men who I will take the information from will go crazy that I pay but I am not a paid writer like they are. I sort of guess your costs are to pay writers.
Hey, I have something to offer.
We can negotiate my imput.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Oh, and BTW, these guys I talk of want me to tell you. They have been barred from America. They don’t mind me writing but they mind them writing because they are writers by trade.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Oh, good God, I am just digging a hole for myself with my comments. Sorry. Keep up the good work. Mike, all I have is just friends that were part of the music industry and art industry in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.
Some just happened to see a lot of stuff they probably shouldn’t have seen and know a thing or 2 about a thing or 2. I do guess that you can’t understand how people stepped out of reality as a way of coping with reality in those days.
To be honest, I doubt very much that would fit in with some of your MRM writers. these guys might judt write a piece to make you all laugh.
November 13th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I must also say I am Pagan and I vote. My wife is also pagan and votes. However sir you are making grossly wrong assumptions. Pagans are by my observation even more devout than most people who call themselves Christians. personally my family celebrates all our major holidays plus daily grace at meals and prayers before bed. We give to several charities and the local pagan church. The only difference is pagans pray to their own gods and not to the Abraham one. Pagans are far from godless. Nor are all of us leftist. Yes many of us are democrats. However my own specific brand of paganism is Asatru. In my experience, Asatru are overwhelmingly Conservatives with a . Personally I am a conservative with libertarian leanings. I voted for Ron Paul in the Primaries and Bob Barr in the General Election. My honest opinion is if the GOP was less centered around conservative Christianity and more toward Jeffersonian style Republicanism, i.e. fiscal responsibility, personal freedom, limited government, and non-interventionalist foreign policy then the ranks of the GOP would swell with non-Christians. Every non-christian I know is a third party, independent or Democrat b/c of the Christian leaning of the GOP. However, Neoconservatives with such an intertwining of faith, views based on ignorance,and politics like that of the author have made the GOP so far from it’s great origins they are Republicans in name only.
November 14th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Chiming in as another voting pagan who also happens to be a wartime vet. While it may not have been Dr. Kengor’s intent to portray pagans as “non-religious Americans,” that is certainly how it reads. Simply put, such a statement would be grossly incorrect.
As to why Evangelicals concern so many of us, there are a plethora of reasons. History, for one. We can see in past centuries in Europe, and even at the present in the middle east, just how well theocratic government works out. This has been an OPENLY STATED GOAL of several highly influencial evangelicals, not the lest of whom being the late Reverend Jerry Falwell and his leash holder Pat Robertson. Mr. Robertson has been highly involved behind the scenes with the GOP for years, and this year prominently featured one of his proteges, Ralph Reed (former leader of the Christian Coalition after Robertson) deeply, OFFICIALLY involved in the GOP during the campaign. These men, and those of like philosophy (evangelicals) espouse many of the very things that initially drove the Pilgrims to face the hardships inherent in initially settling this land.
The bottom line is this: we want government that GOVERNS, not government that preaches or ignores (or revokes!) the Establishment clause of the Bill of Rights (Article I for those less familiar with the document). If you want religion, go to the church, sanctuary, etc. of your choice and leave the decision to do, or not do, the same in the hands and hearts of every other individual to make as they so choose. This is a vital element of our Constitution, and we allow it to be tainted or removed at our own peril.
November 15th, 2008 at 11:58 am
I agree 100% with DarkDancer. I am a Pagan, I vote, and I am very religious. Pagan is not the same as atheist or secular. I tend to be on the liberal end of things, but many Pagans are. Just because we are Non-Abrahamic does not mean we are irreligious.