At Religion News Service Mark Silk offers a sketch religious breakdown of important battleground states for Tuesday’s election.
Of course, the broad categories of “Mainline Protestants,” “Evangelicals,” “Catholics,” “Nones,” and “Mormons” do not offer a nuanced portrait of religious life in America. Nor does it tell us enough to see various percentages. Among every category, there are important differences. Catholics, for instance, break in many different directions electorally. Some Catholic groups, such as Latinos, tend to vote Democratic. But other Catholic groups, such as pro-life voters, tend to vote Republican.
Nevertheless, even with all those caveats, Silk’s sketch is worth looking at. It must make a significant difference, for instance, to have religious make-ups as broadly different as those of North Carolina and New Hampshire:
“North Carolina
- Mainliners: 32%
- Evangelicals: 44%
- Catholics: 9%
- Nones: 6%
“New Hampshire
- Mainliners: 27%
- Evangelicals: 10%
- Catholics: 38%
- Nones: 16%”
For each of the 12 battleground states, Silk offers a brief commentary on the trends suggested by the data. For those interested in religion and politics, Silk’s article is certainly worth a read.
I Love You but You're Going to Hell 