Results of a new voter survey may be bad news for the McCain campaign and a possible indication of a Catholic swing toward Senator Barack Obama, particularly among young Catholic voters. According to the survey, not only are “monthly worship attenders” moving to support Obama’s candidacy, they are being joined by first time voters and younger Catholics, who support Obama by more than 15 points over Senator John McCain, 55 percent to 40 percent.

According to the survey, Obama leads McCain by an eight-point margin among registered voters (50 percent to 42 percent), even though McCain tops Obama by a wide margin among white evangelicals (68 percent to 25 percent respectively). Democratic nominee John Kerry captured 21percent of the white evangelical vote in 2004.

Among Catholics, a key swing group that Kerry lost to Bush 52 percent to 47 percent, Obama maintains a significant lead (51percent to 40 percent), and among white mainline Protestants Obama edges out McCain (49 percent to 45 percent). Among the religiously unaffiliated, Obama has a strong forty-point lead, and the Democratic candidate also captures the vast majority (93 percent) of the black Protestant vote.

Authors of The Faith and American Politics Survey say its participants ranked the economy (83 percent), energy/gas prices (76 percent), and health care (71 percent) as the most important issues in the 2008 election. Economic issues, in fact, topped the list of most important issues among all religious groups. Americans rank abortion and same-sex marriage as the least important issues in 2008, survey authors report. Only 43 percent and 28 percent respectively say these issues are very important issues to their vote in 2008.

“Younger Americans, including younger Americans of faith, are not the culture war generation,” said Dr. Robert Jones, President of Public Religion Research and lead analyst of the poll. “On issues from gay and lesbian rights to the role of government at home and around the world, young Catholics, mainline protestants and evangelicals are bridging the divides that entrenched their elders and ushering in an era of consensus in which the common good trumps the clash of ideologies."

“As we go forward, expect to see young people across faiths focusing more and more on issues that reflect a concern for America’s image in the world and how our government treats the least of these at home and abroad. Expect to see the dividing lines of the culture wars continue to fade,” said Katie Paris, Director of Communications Strategy at Faith in Public Life, an ecumenical public advocacy group which sponsored the survey.

In what is being described as “a groundbreaking look at the faith and political views of young people” in the 2008 election cycle, The Faith and American Politics Survey, released October 8, is a large national survey with an unprecedented over sample of Americans ages 18-34, according to its sponsors. The results of the survey are based on telephone interviews with a representative sample of 2,000 American adults and an over sample of 1,250 younger adults (18-34), including both land line and cell phone interviews.

Findings include:

Monthly worship attenders swing to Obama in 2008. The greatest shift in candidate preference between 2004 and 2008 has occurred among all voters who attend religious services once or twice a month, moving from 49 percent support for Kerry in 2004 to 60 percent support for Obama in 2008.

More Americans think Obama is friendly to religion than McCain. Forty-nine percent of Americans say Obama is friendly to religion, while 45 percent say McCain is friendly to religion. More than seven-in-ten (71 percent) say it is important for public officials to be comfortable talking about religious values.

Young first-time voters are heavily supporting Obama. Among young first-time voters, who make up close to one-third of this age group (ages 18-34), more than seven-in-ten (71 percent) support Obama, compared to slightly more than half (53 percent) of young voters who have voted in previous elections.

Younger Catholics more strongly support Obama, abortion rights, and more active government than older Catholics. While older Catholics (age 35 and older) are split between the candidates (46 percent for McCain and 44 percent for Obama), among younger Catholics Obama leads McCain by 15 points (55 percent to 40 percent). Six-in-ten younger Catholics say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared to half of older Catholics. Younger Catholics are more pro-government than any other religious group, with two-thirds preferring bigger government with more services, compared to 41 percent support among older Catholics.

Younger white evangelicals strongly oppose abortion rights but are less conservative and more supportive of same-sex marriage than older evangelicals. Young white evangelicals are strongly opposed to abortion rights, with two-thirds saying abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. Yet, less than a majority (49 percent) of younger evangelicals identify as conservative, compared to nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of older evangelicals.  Among young evangelicals, a majority favor either same-sex marriage (24 percent) or civil unions (28 percent), compared to a majority (61 percent) of older evangelicals who favor no legal recognition of gay couples’ relationships.

Americans see room for common ground in abortion debate. A majority (53 percent) of Americans believe political leaders can work to find common ground on abortion while staying true to their core beliefs, including majorities of white mainline Protestants (59 percent), Catholics (55 percent), and the unaffiliated (52 percent).

Generation gap on same-sex marriage is large and increasing. Nearly half (46 percent) of young adults say gay couples should be allowed to marry, compared to only 29 percent of Americans overall. Over the last two years, support for same-sex marriage among young adults has jumped 9 points (from 37 percent to 46 percent), and the generation gap has nearly doubled.

Support for same-sex marriage is significant among young religious Americans. Among young white mainline Protestants and Catholics, close to half (48 percent and 44 percent respectively) support same-sex marriage. Young white evangelicals are 2.5 times as likely as older evangelicals to say that gay couples should be allowed to marry (25 percent to 9 percent).

Addressing religious liberty concerns strongly increases support for same-sex marriage. When respondents were provided with an assurance that “no church or congregation would be required to perform marriages for gay couples,” support for same-sex marriage increased by 14 points in the general population and among younger adults.

Young adults prefer larger government that provides increased services. Nearly six-in-ten (57 percent) young adults say they prefer a larger government providing more services rather than a smaller government providing fewer services. Among Americans as a whole, less than half (45 percent) want bigger government. The generation gap is evident among every religious tradition. Two-thirds (67 percent) of younger Catholics say they prefer bigger government, and younger white evangelicals are 21 points more likely than older evangelicals to support larger government (44 percent to 23 percent respectively).

D. Michael Lindsay, assistant professor of sociology at Rice University and author of Faith In The Halls of Power and Amy Sullivan, author of The Party Faithful provided expert analysis of the poll during an October 8 conference call with journalists.

“Younger believers—including Catholics and white evangelicals—are significantly more supportive of bigger government and expanding diplomatic efforts abroad.  It’s not surprising, therefore, that they are supporting some of the ideas put forward by the Democrats in 2008. It may very well be that in this election, the conventional wisdom about the ‘values voters’—who they are and what they want—gets turned on its head,” said Lindsay.

“A lot of us have found that there is a change going on within religious communities and younger members of these religious traditions have been even more pronounced in this broadening agenda.  This is the first poll to provide the data to show this,” said Sullivan.