General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums538: More And More Americans Aren't Religious. Why Are Democrats Ignoring These Voters?
Democrats are once again doubling down on religion this year. Faith was on full display during the Democratic National Convention, where Joe Biden closed out the week with several pointed references to his Catholic faith. And the Biden campaign is also making an ambitious play for white evangelical Protestants and Mormons, two loyal Republican groups where Democrats hope to make some inroads.
Often lost in this, though, is the fact that Democrats are mostly ignoring a massive group of voters who are becoming an increasingly crucial part of their base: people who dont have any religion at all.
Right now, voters with no religious affiliation look like they might back Biden in record numbers. According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center in early August, 72 percent of nonreligious voters a group that includes people who identify as atheists, agnostics and nothing in particular are planning to support Biden. Thats 4 percentage points higher than the 68 percent who supported Hillary Clinton in 2016. And thats a big deal, because despite being frequently overlooked, nonreligious people make up a sizable part of the electorate. An analysis of validated voters by Pew found that religiously unaffiliated voters accounted for one-quarter of the electorate in 2016, and 30 percent in 2018.
The unaffiliated are a key demographic for Democratic candidates in particular. More than one-third of the people who voted for Clinton in 2016 were religiously unaffiliated, making them just as electorally important for Democrats as white evangelical Protestants are for Republicans. Yet despite constantly hearing about the importance of white evangelical voters in an election cycle, Democratic politicians have been slow to embrace the growing number of nonreligious people who vote for them.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/more-and-more-americans-arent-religious-why-are-democrats-ignoring-these-voters/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
Stallion
(6,474 posts)Budi
(15,325 posts)betsuni
(25,472 posts)beachbumbob
(9,263 posts)its nonsense as religion or not, we have GRAVE issues much more important to all of us voting democratic than whose god or lack of god is important
SWBTATTReg
(22,112 posts)fleur-de-lisa
(14,624 posts)Im so sick of all the criticisms of Democrats.
SharonClark
(10,014 posts)"72 percent of nonreligious voters a group that includes people who identify as atheists, agnostics and nothing in particular are planning to support Biden."
It doesn't sound like he needs to do outreach to this group, which includes me, because we have little to fear from a Biden campaign.
Pathwalker
(6,598 posts)Mariana
(14,854 posts)The majority of Democratic voters are religious.
redstateblues
(10,565 posts)TheRealNorth
(9,478 posts)All he needs to do is follow the 1st Amendment and oppose/not enact laws based on religious dogma.
Midnight Writer
(21,745 posts)Sounds like a fool proof plan.
JI7
(89,247 posts)Response to JI7 (Reply #11)
Midnight Writer This message was self-deleted by its author.
Baked Potato
(7,733 posts)Democrats understand the play going on for evangelicals is not at the expense of ignoring the non-religious.
JHB
(37,158 posts)...by not courting the nonreligious?
MoonlitKnight
(1,584 posts)Since I dont believe I dont care as long as you dont base policy decisions based upon what some crazy televangelist spouts.
radius777
(3,635 posts)thus universal appeals to spirituality (what Biden is doing) works to connect with the religious and non-religious alike - and their sense of family and community.
Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)I'm an atheist. But I don't need to be acknowledged. I want policies that promote true equality and freedom.