Here is an interesting chart from Beliefnet:
Weekly Churchgoers vs. Occasionals Tuesday November 4, 2008
Juxtapose this with the statement of the dissident "Catholic Democrats" put out today. Edited and with my emphases and comments.
Boston, MA – The Catholic Democrats congratulates Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden on their inspiring election to President and Vice President of the United States. Catholic Democrats has strongly supported the candidacy of Senator Obama and Senator Biden in various ways, including launching the Catholics for Obama Web site.
"The Catholic Democrats, like most other Americans, is thrilled that Senator Obama has been elected to the highest office in the land today, and that Senator Biden will be our first Catholic vice president," said Dr. Patrick Whelan, president of the Catholic Democrats. "We have argued all along that Senators Obama and Biden were the candidates that best reflected our Catholic values of hope, personal responsibility, and care for the common good. We also believe that they best addressed the issues of meeting our energy needs, feeding our families, ensuring access to quality health care, promoting peace and prosperity, and restoring the progress that was made against abortion during the 1990s." [A surreal statement given his support of abortion at every stage… even after live birth. How about FOCA?]
Catholics for Obama, which Catholic Democrats launched in October, includes an endorsement petition, signed by more than 3,000 Catholics [It would be good to file that away.] from across the country, including clergy and women religious; The Catholic Case for Obama book by Catholic Democrats president Dr. Patrick Whelan; the Catholic Questions and Answers on Abortion, an important resource on the issue based on Church teaching and social policy; a policy brief by Dr. Stephen Shneck of Catholic University, regarding progressive tax policy; and a reflection by Professor Douglas Kmiec regarding his endorsement of Senator Obama in February. The endorsement petition will become a statement of support of President-elect Obama for Catholics to advance the message of the common good [the common good] at this historic time.
"Six months ago the pundits were predicting that President-elect Obama would not do well with Catholic voters. [Apparently Pres.-elect Obama did not do well with Catholics who go to church on Sunday.] The fact that Senators Obama and Biden reversed a trend, since 1996, of white ethnic Catholics defecting to the Republican Party [defecting… interesting word choice] in presidential elections is of historic significance," said Steve Krueger, national director of Catholic Democrats. "Without the shift of Catholic voters responding to the messages of President-elect Barack Obama, it is unlikely he would be leading our nation come January. While the economy dominated the landscape during the final month, we cannot underestimate the manner in which the themes of his campaign resonated with Catholics who fundamentally care about the common good and who supported his message of reducing abortions in our nation." [Uh huh. That’s the message he gave?]
