Establishment No More?

A study released yesterday by Calvin College in Grand Rapids reveals shifts in the political preferences of different religious groups.

Of interest to us as Episcopalians is the shift in the politics of mainline Protestants (Episcopalians, Methodists, Presybterians, UCC, etc.). Where once mainline Protestantism was a bastion of the establishment and Republican Party, now for the first time in history, more mainline Protestants are likely to vote Democratic than Republican (by 46 to 37 percent).

An old joke about the Episcopal Church was that it was "the Republican Party at prayer." Perhaps this is no longer the case.

Also of interest is that religiously unaffiliated people -- atheists, agnostics, believers who don't attend church or affiliate with one -- are the fastest growing group. They are more likely to vote Democratic or independent, but least likely to go out and vote.