Poll shows opposition to political parties seeking church directories

[Nambe]

WASHINGTON (AP)

Most Americans oppose political parties obtaining church rosters, says a new poll that found bipartisan opposition to a step the Republicans have taken to identify voters.

The Republican National Committee has sought church directories from Southern Baptists and Roman Catholics who support President Bush, a move it said would help them mobilize new voters. Republicans argued that the directories are public documents available to anyone, and the request violated no law. They have continued the practice.

But religious leaders expressed concern that the outreach could violate limits on politics in church.

The poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that Republicans and Democrats were about equally opposed to the practice, with about two-thirds from each party saying they thought it was improper. The survey was released Tuesday. ..

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[CarolynEC]

1. "Parties"? Plural?

Sounds a little bit like a push poll, implanting the idea (falsely) that both parties have been rounding up church directories en masse.

[Rose Siding]

2. Two thirds...

"On another question that has dogged the presidential campaign, about two-thirds of those surveyed said Catholic leaders should not deny communion to politicians who take positions at odds with their own. Some Catholic leaders have said they will deny communion to candidates who support abortion rights, including Kerry."