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"Religiously Unaffiliated Voters For Obama" doesn't really have a bumper-sticker catchiness to it, but it rang true in 2012.
Larry Downing / Reuters
President Barack Obama acknowledges supporters while addressing his election night victory rally in Chicago, November 6, 2012.
Voters who say they don't have a specific affiliation with a particular religion -- increasingly referred to with the minimalist moniker "the nones" -- made up 12 percent of the electorate in 2012 and 2008, a share that has more than doubled since 1980 and is up by 3 percent since 2000. Even more, 17 percent of 2012 voters said they never attend church.
Pew study: 'Nones' on the rise
"This is a big group, it's a growing group, and it's politically a pretty important and consequential group in that the religiously unaffiliated are one of the strongest Democratic constituencies in the population," said Greg Smith, senior researcher at the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life.
And there are many more who haven't shown up to the polls. In a new study, Pew found that in 2012, nearly one in five survey respondents nationwide classified themselves as "atheist," "agnostic" or "nothing in particular."
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.; Bloomberg White House Correspondent, Julianna Goldman; NY Times White House Correspondent Helene Cooper; Washington Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward discuss the power the president feels he has since winning re-election.
All of that adds up to a substantial chunk of the American public in a country that just nominated (but didn't elect) its first non-Protestant presidential ticket this year. The unaffiliated bloc is comparable with the share of the electorate made up by either black or Hispanic voters. They make up nearly a quarter of Democratic or Democratic-leaning voters. In 2008, they were as reliable a constituency for Barack Obama as white evangelical Protestants were for John McCain.
That's not to say that the Democratic Party has gone out of its way to court them.
Lauren Anderson Youngblood, spokesperson for the Secular Coalition for America -- which lobbies on behalf of atheists, agnostics and other "nontheistic" citizens -- says that Democrats have been, at best, confused about how to reach out to non-believers, if not completely dismissive of the "nones" as a group.
"If you want to reach out to someone, you will. If you want to work for their vote, you will," she said. "We're still a very stigmatized community that people don't necessary want to be associated with because the word 'atheist' has all of these negative connotations."
Broderick Johnson, a senior adviser to the Obama campaign who concentrated on outreach to Catholics, said that while the campaign concentrated on messages of societal values that may appeal to unaffiliated voters, there was not a specific effort to court them as a unique constituency during the 2012 race.
The final result for the 2012 presidential election still isn't official, but the numbers keep flowing in day to day. The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd takes a deeper look at what the votes all mean with the Cook Political Report's David Wasserman.
"I don't know of an effort which was predicated on the idea that there was a large group of people who are unaffiliated with any particular religion, and the way to them was to talk about a certain set of issues," he said.
Data show that these voters' liberal affiliation comes primarily from social issues, like LGBT and abortion rights. Socially liberal but divided on issues of government and public life, religiously unaffiliated voters are far more likely than the general public to embrace same-sex marriage and to believe that all abortions should be legal.
But at the same time, half of them also say that they prefer a smaller federal government that provides fewer public services. One in five calls their political ideology "conservative," and another 40 percent describe themselves as "moderate."
"That segment really feels ignored," Youngblood said. "This is viewed as a very liberal movement, but there is also a segment that would identify as Republicans if it weren't for a lot of these social issues. It's really the intermingling of religion and government that's turning nontheistic Americans and religiously unaffiliated Americans off from the Republican Party."
The formal institutions of secular thought aren't exactly over the moon with the current president, either. While it clearly favored Obama over Romney, the Secular Coalition for America gave Obama an overall "C" grade in its presidential "election scorecard" this year, with failing marks for the categories of "Discrimination by religious organizations receiving taxpayer funding" and "Role of religion in decision making as president."
Those grievances reflect one of the common threads that link the "nones," even those who say they believe in God in some form: a distrust of institutionalized religion's exertion of political influence.
Fully two-thirds of the group said that churches and other faith-based organizations are too involved in politics, and 70 percent say that religious institutions are "too concerned with money and power."
Of course, money and power -- or at least the organizational structures that foster it -- are what make faith groups like evangelical Christians and Catholics ripe for targeting by campaigns that can gather data from churches about potential voters, plugging into the vast communication networks that unite congregants.
That's one advantage that unaffiliated voters, who have little formal structure outside of groups like the Secular Coalition, don't have.
"It's hard to know how, organizationally, they might be reached or mobilized, " Smith said. "That's the question."
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The Hell you say!
My totem pole told me that you were all going to burn in hell for eternity.
There is hope for redemption, however.
You just have to stop using electricity and stop shaving your beard.
Look up "discrimination against atheists" (atheophobia). It will surprise you. Six state constitutions require a religious test, or prevent you from being a witness/juror. Take a guess where these states are located. I'm wondering what they will call their country when they secede from the union?
Religion fading away gives me hope that there IS a future.
Without knowing which states they are, I can tell you that Romney won all 6 of them.
Sam, yup and Texas and Arkansas top the list, no surprise.
I vote for "Retardovania," a land where fairy tales really do come true.
Praise the Lord, I have finally been "classified" so relieved.
Hillary 2016
The writer forgot to mention one other important, unique quality of the "Nones," namely that most have a healthy sense of humor and don't take themselves so damn seriously like people affiliated with religious groups typically do. Church of Saint Mattress, indeed. LOL
Yeah, just look at Hitler. He was a Christian who took himself way too seriously.
According to poll numbers, this is only a small part of the electorate, but in reality it's much bigger.
All Democrats fall into the non-religious category. That's why they vote for abortion and men kissing men in wedding ceremonies.
My neighbor is in her mid- seventies and she votes Democrat AND goes to church. I don't think you can judge a person by how they vote. In fact, the head of a Satanic church in my State votes Republican.
Sure chesty, and all conservatives are trailer dwelling, chaw dribbling, jug swilling meth head rednecks.
ChestyPuller is exactly why there are fewer-and-fewer religious people around.
ChestyPuller
LOL not all democrats fall into the non-religious category. Perhaps we are tired though of the GOP Right Christian conservative talibans forcing their religious beliefs and morals on the rest of us and VIOLATING the United States Constitution. They kept telling us it was the economy stupid, but in the 112th CONGRESS they introduced 99 BILLS on religion. Hmmm . Legitimate Rape? is not acceptable.
Here are some 'republicans' who did more than men kissing men in a wedding.. and I am sure they all voted..
REPUBLICAN:http://badmouth.net/top-five-republican-gay-sex-scandals/
P.S. The sooner the "Good Bye Old Party" stops ignoring the way this country is changing, the better off they will be. However, I doubt it will happen. They keep it up and they are going to lose more often and by much bigger margins :)
Chesty puller is retarded.
All you did was prove the lack of intelligence it takes to be a right winger. You judge without knowing.
Organized religion loves to judge people, even though it is written they are not suppose to.
All religions are manmade institutions. One cannot possibly read religious texts and believe in them. The problem with most religious people is they don't read their book, they don't know their history. It's quite refreshing to hear that people have had enough of religion. It has blinded the masses and created so many horrors and perversities throughout history. I certainly hope this is where Man is headed.
Agree w/you. I was born and raised methodist, but after going through many classes in college... I came to realize that all religions of the world are virtually the same thing. They are attempts to control the masses and divide people around the world based upon texts have been written and re-written throughout history.
I consider myself now to be more spiritual then anything.
ItsAboutTime, That's great to hear! And you are right! When you leave the heard behind.....you become spiritual. Religion is more political than anything spiritual.
YankeeRose,......... agree
Albert Einstein, born a Jew, once said, "If there is an evil upon this earth, it is religion, a political establishment which adheres to childish myths of heroes and demons, a political establishment which commands loyalty for fear of the otherwise."
Which states require a religious test to serve on a jury? I've been wondering how I could avoid jury duty and didn't realize that if I lived in the right state, I had a built-in excuse!
Agnostics are the only ones that don't seem arrogant to me. At least they admit they don't have all the answers.
Smeado, Nobody has ALL the answers. Even Christ, when he was asked, "What is truth?", didn't answer.
It's OK. We prefer to be ignored.
For people who ridicule others because of their religious beliefs or who ridicule others for for not having religious beliefs (i.e., atheists), you are not enlightened, you are bigots.
I agree, Burford. Live and let live.
I agree Yankeerose as long as others afford me the same courtesy. Unfortunately, that's where your sentiment falls apart.
And I agree with you, however, in a perfect world it would be that way. I don't care what people do or do not believe in. I am spiritually responsible for myself. Now, if someone were to try to harm me....I would smash them!
Mike - As long as the religious feel their beliefs give them the power to bar others from rights they deserve, they are a waste and society could do well without their hatred and prejudice.
Within 30 years the religious affiliated will be the minority. Science has all but dismantled the mythology put forth in most religious texts. More and more science is collaborating a Creator and evolution are intertwined
Which is why science is in the crosshairs of religion.
Ellis,
I believe the word you meant to use was corroborating but in any event isn't intertwining a Creator and evolution called Intelligent Design, a creationism idea?
If the GOP would move toward 'fiscally conservative' and back away from the Tea Party, Bible belt, Evangelicals, etc... ideas of 'morally conservative' I think a lot of people would give them a fair shake. Any talk of religion or morality and you've lost my vote instantly.
Precisely. From a member of the 13% of the Old White Guy group.
I think that people should realize that there is a big, BIG difference between being a "religious" person and being a person of "faith" or "belief". I would be the first to admit that many terrible things have happened in the name of "religion". The term "religion" implies an affiliation with a particular group, and an adherence to that group's specific theology. "Faith" or "belief" indicates that a person "believes" that there is a force in the universe greater than what we can understand, and that created everything and has ultimate control over what happens. I personally have a hard time thinking that the world we live in, and indeed the entire universe, came about by accident, and that there is no "plan". Even on the days when I have the most questions about the meaning of it all, I still believe that the Bible is a great guidebook on how to live a peaceful, happy, and controlled life, even if it turns out in the end that the whole concept of faith is bogus. Faith, for me, gives me hope. And life without hope is not worth living. I further believe that what the world needs most is hope, not the cynicism and hatred that pervades our world today.
Mr. Anthrope,......correct, where there is faith there is hope, but faith does not necessarily mean believing in a specific religion or text.........I myself adhere to no religion, have never congregated a day in prayer, do not believe in the devil or hell, or that God is vengeful and takes sides in conflicts. But I do believe there is a more capable intellect than we.
Think about this before you put too much stock in the Bible, "If you were God, and you were all mighty, is there any mountain you could not move ? If you were god, and you were all knowing, could Lucifer or anyone else deceive you ? If you were God, and you were all loving, could you love any of your children less, could you allow any of your children to anguish in hell or anywhere else for eternity.........With all this in mind, can you imagine why anyone would be a God fearing person ?
Ellis: Though I am not knowledgeable enough, or perhaps even mature enough in my faith, to convincingly refute some of your arguements, I stand by my belief that in general, there is not a better guidebook to life than the Bible. Though there is much of it that I don't understand, I think the direction it gives about how to live your life with honesty and integrity, how to deal with your fellow man, plus the obviously desirable behaviors like not lying, not stealing, not killing, not committing adultry, etc., is still valid. Many people have essentially become their own gods, always do what they want to do, and honestly think that if they don't feel something they do is wrong, then it really isn't wrong. I disagree with that mindset. I believe that there will indeed be an accounting required from all of us about how we lived our lives. Thanks for your thoughtful reply.
So Obama won the athiest vote. Shocker.
Another dumb ass republican voter.
I guess you didn't even read the article did you?
The majority of the demographic they are referring are in fact religious but not affiliated with organized religion.
You missed the entire point of the article, if you read it at all.
YOU are part of the problem in this country. Actual atheist are a small part of the demographic they are referring to you @!$%#ing moron. Go back to faux news and pray for the ability to comprehend things before you so you don't look like such an ass.
It isn't so much that non-believers are 'liberal'. I left the Republican party because I didn't believe in their God. The Dems didn't have that requirement.
The ironic thing is the Republicans act more like the Pharisees Christ hated and the Democrats act more like Christ. Christ was a Socialist. He told the rich to sell all they had and give it to the poor. Christ went off on the Pharisees(today's Republicans) for making their beliefs public for all to see.
If someone asks me about religion, I tell them that I am not political. If a Republican asks me about politics I tell them I am not religious.
LOL. Good one!
As mankind expands his knowledge of himself and the universe, he will rely less and less on ancient spooky books for answers and see the organized religion for the con-men they really are.
As this part of society grows that means that other parts (the religious parts) are shrinking. Why do you think you see many many churches changing their views about gays, abortion etc etc etc? Their trying to modernize their view but they are trapped to follow an ancient book and are then betraying their beliefs then classifying themselves as blasphemers.
Once all organized religion is truly gone from this country will we really start to make leaps and bounds forward as a people and a country.
Organized religion is the most polarizing force on the planet. Every little cult hates every other little cult.
And religion is merely a cult, grown large.
True. Jesus was an observant Jew till the day he died. And just look at him now!
Yep, Jesus evolved into a dishwater blond anglo-saxon.
This is more evidence that the Republican Party, if it really wants to survive, needs to part ways with the pro-theocracy crowd. Our country was founded with a strong separation of church and state, and it needs to stay that way.
I also agree with the previous poster who said that some self-described "Christians" here in the USA are among the most hateful and dishonest people you'd ever want to not meet. I hardly think that Jesus would recognize some of these people as His followers based on their behavior and attitudes.
There is the story of a business man who was in a small town on a Sunday and decided to attend services at the local church. He entered and started greeting the parishoners with a smile, shaking their hands, clapping them on the back. He was promptly escorted out for his behaviour. As he sat on the steps of the chruch wondering what happened, Jesus approached and said. "Don't feel bad. I haven't been able to get inside that church myself for years now."
I can imagine that the priests molesting of young boys hasn't help swell the ranks of organized religion, either.
The United States of America is filled with spiritual citizens. Our history is based on Christian values that are the foundation for our laws, our attitude of hard work and determination to suceed that is responsible for our becoming a world power. That will not change due to a more vocal secular minority. Remember the days after 911 the churches were filled for weeks. Its so easy to be arrogrant when life is going well, but the hard times that this nation faces may well turn a more conservative generation back to the church house.
America was founded as SECULAR, which means the church doesn't run it! Also, it was founded on Masonic principles.....NOT CHRISTIAN!
the constitution looks nothing like the bible, so in fact our nation wasn't founded on christian values. If anything they were deist values.
Nations succeed because of a lot of reasons. China's economy is growing like crazy, but they aren't Christians. There are plenty of christian nations that haven't prospered.
its a nice comforting reality you've built there, I give you that much. :)
"Our country was not founded on Christian princples."
John Adams, 2nd US President
It's good to see more Americans leaving the 15th Century behind.
It amazes me that people villify atheists and overlook the role religion plays in justifying war and violence.