Those who have tried to sell the notion that economic issues can draw religious conservatives to move left cannot be too happy with the findings of the latest Pew survey. As reported in today’s New York Times, “The survey confirms findings from previous studies that the most religiously and politically conservative Americans are those who attend worship services most frequently, and that for them, the battles against abortion and gay rights remain touchstone issues.”
The story quotes John C. Green, an author of the Pew report, as saying, “It suggests that the efforts of Democrats to peel away Republican and conservative voters based on economic issues face a real limit because of the role these cultural issues play.”
In other words, attempts to equate issues like the minimum wage and Third World debt with abortion and gay marriage have failed.
The only ones who will be surprised by this are the ones who tried to make the equation. They just don’t get it.
