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Guest
The 'God Gap' Between Republicans and Democrats Closed: Values Voters on the Left
Conservatives are focused on two main issues -- abortion and same-sex marriage -- while liberals spread their concerns more widely and focus on pocketbook issues like poverty and health care and jobs.
Given a list of eight issues, 83 percent of conservatives listed abortion as a priority and 65 percent said same-sex marriage. Immigration (26 percent) and poverty (23 percent) were well down the list, with health care (10 percent) and the environment (6 percent) barely making the cut. Eight in 10 conservatives also want to have marriage legally defined as between one man and one woman, while six in 10 progressives want marriage defined as the union of two people of either gender.
For liberals, poverty (74 percent), health care (67 percent), the environment (56 percent), jobs/economy (48 percent) and the Iraq war (45 percent) dominate their attention. Same-sex marriage (8 percent) and abortion (7 percent) were almost afterthoughts, showing the religious divide between social justice and personal morality appears wider than ever.
In fact, more than nine in 10 conservatives (92 percent) say the chief cause of America's problems is "moral decay," while just 4 percent cite poverty and discrimination.
Conservatives are focused on two main issues -- abortion and same-sex marriage -- while liberals spread their concerns more widely and focus on pocketbook issues like poverty and health care and jobs.
Given a list of eight issues, 83 percent of conservatives listed abortion as a priority and 65 percent said same-sex marriage. Immigration (26 percent) and poverty (23 percent) were well down the list, with health care (10 percent) and the environment (6 percent) barely making the cut. Eight in 10 conservatives also want to have marriage legally defined as between one man and one woman, while six in 10 progressives want marriage defined as the union of two people of either gender.
For liberals, poverty (74 percent), health care (67 percent), the environment (56 percent), jobs/economy (48 percent) and the Iraq war (45 percent) dominate their attention. Same-sex marriage (8 percent) and abortion (7 percent) were almost afterthoughts, showing the religious divide between social justice and personal morality appears wider than ever.
In fact, more than nine in 10 conservatives (92 percent) say the chief cause of America's problems is "moral decay," while just 4 percent cite poverty and discrimination.