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The outspoken Rev. Franklin Graham claimed today that the “majority of Christians” did not vote.
“We know that from of the statistics that I’ve heard that the majority of Christians in this country just did not vote for whatever reason,” he told the Christian Broadcasting Network’s David Brody. “The vast majority of evangelicals did not go to the polls.” He added, “God is in control, and if Christians are upset, they need to be upset at themselves. We need to do a better job of getting our people- the church to vote. Now, I’m not trying to tell you how to vote, you can vote, but vote, my goodness, and vote for candidates that stand for Biblical values.”
But Graham’s assertion -- and implication that had white Christian evangelicals just showed up in bigger numbers, President Obama would have lost -- is off base.
In fact, white evangelicals/born-again Christians made up the same percentage of the electorate as they did in 2008 – 26%. They voted for Mitt Romney, a devout Mormon, by a wider margin than they did for Sen. John McCain four years ago.
And, they made up a larger share of the electorate in 2012 than in 2004, when the Christian Right supposedly fueled George W. Bush’s reelection. They also voted for Romney with the exact same margin as for Bush in 2004, 78%-21%.
Not to mention, Obama won the 48 percent of the electorate that was Christian and not Protestant or Mormon -- 50%-48% among Catholics (25% of the electorate) and 50%-49% of "Other Christians" (23% of the electorate).
In Ohio, they were 1 point more of the electorate than 2008; in Colorado, 4 points higher; in Iowa, up 7 points; in Nevada, up 2.
White evangelical voters in select swing states
CO: 25%, 76-22 Romney; 2008: 21%, 76-23 McCain
FL: 24%, 79-21 Romney; 2008: 24%, 77-21 McCain
IA: 38%, 64-35 Romney; 2008: 31%, 65-33 McCain
NV: 18%, 69-28 Romney; 2008: 16%, 72-27 McCain
OH: 31%, 69-30 Romney; 2008: 30%, 71-27 McCain
They did decline as a share of the electorate in North Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin. But the drops in states like North Carolina (Graham’s home state) and Virginia likely have less to do with apathy and more to do with demographic changes – transplants in North Carolina’s Research Triangle and growth in the Washington, D.C., suburbs of Northern Virginia, for example.
The fact is, Virginia and North Carolina are looking less and less like the Old South and more and more like Mid-Atlantic states.
White evangelical voters in the South (where exit polls are available)
MS: 50%, 95-5 Romney; 2008: 46%, 94-6 McCain
AL: 47% , 90-10 Romney; 2008: 47%, 92-8 McCain
NC: 35%, 79-20 Romney; 2008: 44%, 74-25 McCain
VA: 23%, 83-17 Romney; 2008: 28%, 79-20 McCain
Are there Christian evangelicals who did not vote? Certainly. But that’s true every year and of every demographic group.
Evangelicals make up 26 percent of adults in the country, according to a major 2008 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey. They matched that this election.
The U.S. Census says there are more than 311 million people in the United States. If evangelical adults are 26 percent of them, then there would be 80 million potential voters.
So far, 123 million votes have been counted in this election – and that number will get higher by the millions as votes continue to be counted like in 2008. Evangelicals made up 26 percent of them, therefore, about 32 million evangelicals voted – less than half of their population.
But there’s a need for context here: (1) They make up just 14 percent of the registered-voter base in the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. They outpaced that percentage in the presidential election, (2) This is true every other demographic group in the country as well.
Latinos, for example, according to the U.S. Census, are nearly 17 percent of the country, but only made up 10 percent of the 2012 electorate. They make up just 8 to 9 percent of the registered-voter base of the NBC/WSJ poll.
That would mean just 12 million of the 52 million adult Hispanics voted.
If this was Australia, and the U.S. had compulsory voting, Graham’s argument that evangelicals would have tipped the balance would not hold up very well.
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me and every christian i know voted for obama. proud to accept the 'fault'.
i'm sure there are those who strayed from the fold and voted otherwise, but they are forgiven.
IF God is truly in control...then, STFU Franklin Graham. If your statement is true, then God controlled the election and you did not get your way. Move on and deal with it.
I suggest that Rev Larry put down his bible, look up, and take a tour with the Nuns On A Bus. He might understand the vast problems people face coping with life in America. There is a real world out there and you won't find it in a bible.
What Happen To The Bakers -- You Know Tammy & Jim -- Nothing Like A Little Religion To Serve Your Self -- After
All "God Helps Those That Help Themselves" -- Just Another Angle For The -- Money -- Power -- Greed --
Folks Sounds Like Political / Religion To Me!
Religion = Politics = Religion = Politics -- See Crime Can Payoff In the Name Of God -- For Some!
We Need To Return To The Good Old Days For Some Of These Folk -- These So Called Religious Types Versus
The Lions!:-))
Lord, please forgive your arrogant, self-righteous servant Larry [Big Bird] Robinson. Please forgive him his ungodly pride and show him a better, more humble path so as not to turn so many good people away from You. Amen.
I'm not here to attack religion, but I agree it has no place in politics. When Jerry Falwell and his buddies started the Moral Majority and hired a lobbyist(one of the highest paid lobbyist in Washington) to push legislation thru Congress I believe was the start of the decline of the Republican Party. When do Republicans fail? Every time they they blend religion with politics and answer questions on Abortion, women's issues and Religion. Kills them every time.
The clergy in America have been at the heart of our political debate since before our inception. We have held that position throughout US history until the attempt by liberal Democrats to silence us beginning in 1954.
From the Library of Congress
Religion played a major role in the American Revolution by offering a moral sanction for opposition to the British--an assurance to the average American that revolution was justified in the sight of God. As a recent scholar has observed, "by turning colonial resistance into a righteous cause, and by crying the message to all ranks in all parts of the colonies, ministers did the work of secular radicalism and did it better."
Ministers served the American cause in many capacities during the Revolution: as military chaplains, as penmen for committees of correspondence, and as members of state legislatures, constitutional conventions and the national Congress. Some even took up arms, leading Continental troops in battle.
The Revolution split some denominations, notably the Church of England, whose ministers were bound by oath to support the King, and the Quakers, who were traditionally pacifists. Religious practice suffered in certain places because of the absence of ministers and the destruction of churches, but in other areas, religion flourished.
The Revolution strengthened millennialist strains in American theology. At the beginning of the war some ministers were persuaded that, with God's help, America might become "the principal Seat of the glorious Kingdom which Christ shall erect upon Earth in the latter Days." Victory over the British was taken as a sign of God's partiality for America and stimulated an outpouring of millennialist expectations--the conviction that Christ would rule on earth for 1,000 years. This attitude combined with a groundswell of secular optimism about the future of America to create the buoyant mood of the new nation that became so evident after Jefferson assumed the presidency in 1801.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel03.html
During the years between the inaugurations of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, historians see "evangelicalism emerging as a kind of national church or national religion." The leaders and ordinary members of the "evangelical empire" of the nineteenth century were American patriots who subscribed to the views of the Founders that religion was a "necessary spring" for republican government; they believed, as a preacher in 1826 asserted, that there was "an association between Religion and Patriotism." Converting their fellow citizens to Christianity was, for them, an act that simultaneously saved souls and saved the republic. The American Home Missionary Society assured its supporters in 1826 that "we are doing the work of patriotism no less than Christianity."
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel07.html
The importance of the pastors in developing the principles that influenced the desire for independence cannot be ignored. John Adams commented on two pastors that he believed were instrumental in making the people aware of their Biblical rights, the Reverend Dr. Mayhew and Reverend Dr. Cooper. He stated: “Most conspicuous, the most ardent, and influential [in the] awakening and revival of American principles and feeling.” There are many others that were influential in leadership during the Revolutionary War. Reverend George Whitefield, Reverend James Caldwell, Reverend John Peter Muhlenberg and his brother Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg to name only a few. You can read about these and many of the other pastors of the Revolutionary War by reading the books ‘Pulpit of the American Revolution’, ‘Patriot Preachers of the American Revolution’, and ‘Chaplains and Clergy of the Revolution’.
http://newswithviews.com/Anghis/roger127.htm
It is unconstitutional to restrict pastors from speaking out against or for political candidates according to the first amendment. That's why the IRS will not come against us.
"A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor."
Proverbs 29:23
it has nothing to do with pride- it has to do with fighting for the basic rights guaranteed under our constitution.
YOU, Larry Robinson are an extremely proud and arrogant man. This much is undeniable.
"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."
Proverbs 16:18
Feeding the hungry, nursing the sick, yada, is what you are SUPPOSED to be doing. Why keep bragging about a house of G*D doing G*D's work.
Pay taxes and enter legitimate American society. Until then, keep collecting canned corn and stop meddling in mainstream social issues.
leroy this is a blog and you don't know me. I come here to confront marxist liberalism and those who falsely call themselves Christian while worshipping humanism. The things I say here reflect the teachings and example of Jesus, not the false Jesus that liberals and atheists re-invent, and neither a conservative nor a liberal. Jesus also confronted the political leaders and the false worshippers with strong language and clear rebuke. He told us that the things He did we would do also. That He would direct our thoughts, speaking to us the things of the Father.
Jesus said that we are to speak truth to the darkness of this world and to bring hope the of Christ to all mankind. That is what I do in words and deeds. I let my actions to the world in helping the needy while teaching them of the hope of Jesus be my testimony;
When you have slept in open fields or floors of huts made of cow dung; when you have dedicated your life to see all people delivered from the bondage of the effects of sin on this world both physically and spiritually, I'll consider your criticisms worth considering.
santhosha
1. because liberals claim that we conservative pastors do none of those things
2. Show me in our constitution where only pastors are denied first amendment rights and why we had them until 1954.
3. I do pay taxes, our ministry has no positive income and so even if we weren't tax exempt, it still wouldn't produce any tax revenue. Without the support and strong voice of pastors we wouldn't have a nation. Pastors were at the lead of the Revolutionary War and a number of pastors signed the Declaration of Independence.
4. George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson all supported state and local governments providing financial support through taxes to the churches. I think they know more about the intent of the Constitution than you do. Not that I want that support- I don't
5. Read the comments here by liberals and atheists about conservative Christians. We are constantly portrayed by the left as ignorant racist rednecks who hate the poor. This repeated lie is why I continue to speak out and to share the truth about myself and many more pastors who's lives are nothing like the false image presented of us.
Sure, it's always a great idea to attack stereotypes with stereotypes - that's exactly what Jesus would do anyway, right? Not much of a defense you got there, buddy. If your statements are any indication of how Christianity operates today, these truly are Godless times.
I think what most people (including former Christians) have had enough of today are the fire-and-brimstone, wrath-of-God, judge-not-lest-ye-be-judged-and-I-call-myself-a-man-of-God-so-I'm-gonna-judge-the-life-out-of-you "ministers" who continually subscribe to policies which are decidedly un-gospel. Your posts reek of un-Christian, judgmental hypocracy - and that's why you and your church have no credibility anymore. I'm not sure which God you represent, but it's clearly not the one that Jesus taught about. Serve whatever god you claim to - you have no power over anyone.
"Never trust a minister who owns more than one suit." - Lenny Bruce
Sandy is proof that God hated Romney.
seems more likely He doesn't approve of liberals in New York and New Jersey
Explain all the GOP whiners specifically blaming Sandy for the loss, then.
Not only does Sandy hate republicans, she gives a mean blowjob to boot! Wish I could stop saying that...
@Larry
At what point did you lose all reality and start to believe in a deity in the sky?
I'm sure Larry was brainwashed from childhood as pretty much all of us from our generation were. I started thinking for myself by 13 or 14 and told my father that I did not believe anymore. He was very disappointed but respected my view and allowed me to discontinue attending church.
leroy, my father was an atheist until age 77 who was a drunk during my early years and beat us if we even mentioned Jesus. But at age 13 I had the opportunity to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior and to enjoy a deep personal relationship now for over 50 years.
Really Big Bird? The same father who had you studying the sciences, classical literatue, classical music, jazz, history and geography from a very young age? The same father who had you building your own radios by age 8 and rebuilding car engines by 14? THAT father? Sounds like a pretty complicated man!
"THAT father? Sounds like a pretty complicated man!"
Oh well, back to reality for Larry tomorrow, you can't afford to take days off when you work at McDonalds!
"you can't afford to take days off when you work at McDonads"
indeed, my father was a complicated man
`Thanks Frankie.... the atheist population continues to grow. Thank the dirt when we are in control.
BTW.... Santa and the Easter bunny are also dead.
let's be real.... if Jesus was here today.... he would still be a stinking, rotting corpse. Much like the church.
No matter how much chocolate you put on this turd.... still tastes like @!$%#.
No matter how much chocolate you put on this turd.... still tastes like chit.
All good Christains should kill all nonbelievers? Seems to be a pattern....
This conversation, which seems to be a good one, seems will live forever, although there might only be speculations as to why Romney lost the election. But guess what: who cares! We all know he only had rhetorics, and the exit-polls shewed precisely what the people wanted--not to have him in the White House as he so earnestly wanted. Maybe it was a fantasy he wanted to feed, an ego he wanted to nurture. The man has everything he wants for crying-out-loud. He said many things that could convince the votes and he did convince many for him to have gotten so many votes. It is safe to say that Willard Mitt Romney is an abomination. He did lie, and based of the biblical principles that he holds; that is, if his teachings are based of Christian principles then, he certainly is an abomination, even if he was not the only do actually said many of the falsshoods he mantioned during the campaign about what Obama did not do from what he did that were un-American.
Religious righties discovered that their distaste for Mormonism was far less than their distaste for a black President.
Kinda odd that we decide to denigrate the muslims.... since it is the mantra of all good CHRISTAINS,,,,,, Just ask native Americans.
God loves you.... now here is your small pox infested blanket....
Romney lost because of Republicans anti-christian message.
abandon the poor, the sick, the elderly and give it all to the rich. Brown people or those people don't deserve the right to vote. Rape is gods plan for you.
Republicans are wrong about everything.
You should heed the word of god.... our god.... if you know what is good for you....
Since there is no god, any person who calls themselves a "Man of God" is either a con-man or a pedophile.
Just happens to have testicles.
"If the election were held before Hurricane Sandy, Romney would have won." - Bill O'Reilly
God controls natural disasters.
Ergo, God must hate the GOP.
Q.E.D.
Could be God just hates Bill O'reilly....
I support a woman's right to kill anything she wants to... except spiders and erections....
Frank Schaeffer has written a wonderful book on his life gowing up in a famous evangelical family, as well as being a well known evangelical minister himself. At a certain point in his life he began to realize that the movement was too extreme, political and religious to the point of exclusivity which was not tolerant of mainstream religions. He has been on many TV news programs, is still a man who believes in God, and lately has refuted Franklin Graham's statement about Christian voting results. The book is called "Crazy for God : How I Grew up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back." A very informative, honest, well written eye opener of a book.
F. Graham, a lot of Christians didn't vote because you preached nothing but prejudice and hatred. No one, Christian or other, likes to hear hatred, which is all you spew. And did you really think that the abrupt reversal of your beliefs of and elimination of the Mormon religion referenced on your home page wouldn't be noticed? You and your father are not for Christians; you're for whatever lines your pocketbook. The word Jesus described people like you is "Pharisee"; you like to be heard, but don't practice what you preach, although these days, I kinda believe you do practice what you preach - HATRED!!! F. Graham needs to go take time out in a corner and shut his big mouth.
There are lies, damn lies, and lies so stupid they're just plain insulting. When he's not too busy begging his god to murder us all, he might try to come up with a lie that's at least in one of the first two categories.
The Rev. Franklin Graham needs to find something useful to do, like go out and molest some more children.
???????????????????? Children have nothing to do with this.
Molesting kids is useful in your world? you are sick
I think The Lunatic was referring to "The Christmas Child", a subsidiary of Samaritan's Purse, Franklin's charity. "The Christmas Child" and the associated "Operation Shoebox" are children targeted charities that have been criticised for requiring benificiaries to sit through a half-hour prayer meeting/proselisation session before receiving their gifts or assistance.
Franklin also runs the "Billy Graham Evangelical Association" and receives a salary from each. A total of $1.2million in 2011. When called out on this, Franklin said he would give the whole amount to charity, but didn't say anything about future years. He is, in effect running more of a business than a charity. And using the charities and his father's pulpit as political cudgelsto attack those outside "his" world view.
Actually, I was referring to the fact that the chrisitan relgion has been F^&%'ing with people's minds and bodies for almost 2000 years - and the damage to society from crap like this isn't any worse than the damage to all the little kids they molest.
The reverend has one thing right, we christians did help elect President Obama. One of the reasons other than i do care about my country and believe the President is on the right course, is that so called religous organizations of all faiths are increasingly sticking their face into politics in America. THE CHURCH will not tell me how to vote and we do not need your telling us to at sunday service or on your tax exempt radio and television stations. If the various religous organizations want to be involved in politics and act as PACS for their Chosen candidate crawl out of the closet and quit hiding behind your supposed faith based tax exemption.
BRAVO!!
EXCELLENT COMMENT.
If people want to partake in religions tales and fables than that is their choice.
But other people may not want to participate in their choice of the thousands of right on religions...........
If they want their tax exemption then keep it to themselves.
You can't have it both ways.
Now I wish the I.R.S. would do their job and prosecute the law breakers.
Dan Campbell,
I agree whole-heartedly. Franklin Graham should either step aside, or his evangelist and charity empire ought to lose its 501 (c) 3 status.
And I feel the same way about both the Roman Catholic Church and the Mormon Church. And ironically not due to Mitt Romney's candidacy, but due to both church's active politicking against gay marriage, including the Mormon church providing Utah based petition signature seekers for a California ballot initiative in an earlier election cycle. The Roman Catholic Church has had several Bishops publicly speak for or against specific candidates, or disparage a candidate's position.
Tax law says that a 501 (c) 3 organization (church or charity) can have a a moral or ethical position on an issue or proposed policy. But it cannot actively campaign or lobby that position, only state it and produce educational material addressing its beliefs. It also cannot promote or oppose candidates for office based on those beliefs. Obviously Franklin Graham violated this provision by using his position and the opportunities his pulpit at BGEA and Samaritan's Purse gave him in the media. Likewise, the Bishops who spoke out, without reprimand, for or against certain candidates. And clearly, the Mormon Church was involved in active politicking in California.
However, I can also see all these groups getting a virtual bye, or wave-off, lest the administration be seen as seeking reprisal against a group rather than addressing the law's requirements. As treasurer of my local church, I actually reminded my pastor that what we could say to each other in private was much different than what she could say from the altar, the pulpit, or at coffee hour.