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Survey: Religiously unaffiliated, minority Christians propelled Obama’s victory
A quarter of President Barack Obama's supporters were religiously unaffiliated, the Public Religion Research Institute says.
November 15th, 2012
02:24 PM ET

Survey: Religiously unaffiliated, minority Christians propelled Obama’s victory

By Dan Merica, CNN

Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama’s victory relied largely on two dramatically different religious coalitions - minority Christians and those with no religion according to a survey released Thursday.

“This presidential election is the last in which a white Christian strategy will be considered a plausible path to victory,” said Robert P. Jones, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, which conducted the survey. “The American religious and ethnic landscape is becoming increasingly diverse, and any campaigns relying on outdated maps are destined to lose their way.”

One-in-four Obama voters were religiously unaffiliated, the second-largest “religious” demographic in the president’s coalition, according to the study (PDF). Minority Christians - consisting of black, Asian, Hispanic and mixed-race Americans made up 31% of Obama’s coalition, the largest religious group.

Among major religious demographics, Obama struggled most with white Christians, including Catholics, mainline Protestants and evangelical Protestants. When these three groups were added up, they accounted for just 35% of Obama’s religious coalition. In comparison, Republican challenger Mitt Romney’s coalition was overwhelmingly white and Christian, with 79% of Romney voters identifying as such.

FULL POST

- Dan Merica

Filed under: 2012 Election • Barack Obama • Catholic Church • Christianity • Faith • Politics • Same-sex marriage

November 15th, 2012
06:46 AM ET

Belief Blog's Morning Speed Read for Thursday, November 15

By Arielle Hawkins, CNN

Here's the Belief Blog’s morning rundown of the top faith-angle stories from around the United States and around the world. Click the headlines for the full stories.

From the Blog:

CNN: Harlem churches attract European tourists to worship
On any given Sunday in Harlem, visitors might be surprised to see who is attending black churches. Tourists are lining up to worship in Harlem, where black churches are becoming big, inspirational attractions for white European travelers. It's a growing trend, and a cultural experience that's uniquely American. CNN's Jason Carroll reports.

Tweet of the Day:

[tweet https://twitter.com/MarsHill/status/268989242770853888%5D

Photo of the Day:


Photo credit: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images

Protestors stand outside of the Irish Parliament building, holding pictures of Savita Halappanavar. The Irish Times reports Halappanavar was told “this is a Catholic country” when staff at University Hospital Galway denied her a pregnancy termination as she miscarried. Halappanavar died after the three-day miscarriage. Doctors refused to grant her an abortion because the fetus still had a heartbeat.

FULL POST

- A. Hawkins

Filed under: Uncategorized

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About this blog

The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.

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