WASHINGTON (ABP) — Leaders from several religious groups are criticizing a polling agency and the organizers of the Jan. 19 Nevada caucuses for a lack of religious sensitivity.
In a Jan. 10 letter, a group of prominent evangelicals — including several Baptists — criticized the major media outlets that conduct exit polls during the early primary campaigns. The letter — addressed to the news departments of the major broadcast networks, Fox News, CNN and the Associated Press — said the polling consortium is perpetuating stereotypes by failing to ask Democratic voters the same religious questions they ask of Republicans.
“Your entrance and exit polls at the Iowa caucuses asked Republican caucus-goers if they were ‘born-again or evangelical Christian(s)' but did not ask the same question of Democrats. This omission left a substantive hole in subsequent news coverage of the caucuses,” the letter said. “Based on your polling, the public helpfully learned that born-again or evangelical Christians played a central role in Mike Huckabee's victory but received no information about the impact of evangelical voters in the Democratic race.”
The letter went on to note that the exit polls in the Jan 8 New Hampshire primary asked Democrats about their denominational affiliation but failed to ask them if they are born-again or evangelical. The same held true for the Jan. 15 Michigan primary.
While Huckabee won an overwhelming majority of evangelical Iowa Republicans, he did not do the same among New Hampshire and Michigan evangelicals. Pointing out the New Hampshire numbers, the writers said “the disparity of these results suggests that evangelical voters' behavior may not conform to expectations, which further shows the need to measure it in both parties.”
They concluded that “Evangelicalism is not a monolithic movement that fits neatly into one party. For the sake of accuracy and dispelling shopworn stereotypes, we urge you to allow all evangelicals an opportunity to be represented in your surveys and polling data.”
The signers included David Neff, editor of the flagship evangelical magazine Christianity Today, Jim Wallis, founder of the Sojourners/Call to Renewal anti-poverty movement, and Joel Hunter, pastor of the Orlando-based Northland Church.
Three prominent Baptists also signed the document: David Gushee, a Christian ethics professor at Mercer University; Paul Corts, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities; and Glen Stassen, an ethics professor at Fuller Theological Seminary. Gushee writes a regular column for Associated Baptist Press.
Meanwhile, an interfaith group has criticized both the Democratic and Republican parties in Nevada for scheduling the state's caucuses during the Jewish Sabbath. The event is scheduled to take place the morning of Jan. 19, making it difficult or impossible for observant Jews to participate.
“On the Sabbath, tradition restricts Jews from working and traveling and thus would prohibit them from participating in the caucuses,” said a Jan. 15 statement from Welton Gaddy, president of the Washington-based Interfaith Alliance. “Further complicating matters, both caucuses are scheduled in the morning in direct conflict with religious services in synagogues and temples of all denominations. And unlike a primary election, there is no opportunity for absentee voting in a caucus.”
Gaddy, who also serves as pastor of Northminster Baptist Church in Monroe, La., acknowledged that it is too late to change the timing of the caucus.
“While it is unfortunate that [Nevada officials] decided not to fix the problem in time for the 2008 election, they have more then enough time to act before 2012,” he said. “This scheduling decision imposes a barrier that will prevent the full participation of the Jewish community in Nevada.”
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