The Times Poll : U.S. Voters in No Mood to Launch Moral Crusade

Although most Americans today say they are religious and worried about declining standards of morality, they are in no mood to launch a moral crusade through the national political process, the Los Angeles Times Poll has found.

People want to keep religion out of government and are leery of preachers-turned-politicians. And this is bad news for any cleric inclined to step into the national political arena, particularly television evangelist Pat Robertson, who will compete next month in the first event of the 1988 presidential campaign, the Michigan Republican primary.

It means also that the Republican Party and its presidential contenders probably should tread cautiously in their escalating efforts to attract the votes of white Christian fundamentalists. In fact, The Times’ survey found that these fundamentalists frequently hold views that are outside the mainstream of Republican political thought. If the GOP is perceived as catering to the conservative fundamentalists, it risks alienating the people who make up the core of the party’s constituency, which tends to be even more moderate on many social issues than registered Democrats.

Americans retain not only their historic regard for separation of church and state but also their traditional reluctance to let government meddle in their personal lives. By a 5-3 ratio, people surveyed by The Times said they become more “annoyed” when government “intrudes into the private lives of citizens” than when it “protects activities that flout traditional family values.”

Still, there are some areas where significant numbers of Americans are willing to allow government intrusion into private lives.

For example, nearly half of the public favors the quarantining of AIDS patients, the survey showed. In California, where the November ballot will contain an initiative measure sponsored by followers of Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. that, among other things, would allow health officials to quarantine AIDS victims, the public is evenly divided on the issue. However, Los Angeles residents favor quarantine by a slight margin.

Punishment for Homosexuals

A quarter of those interviewed said they believe “AIDS is a punishment God has given homosexuals for the way they live.”

A third thought “homosexual relations between consenting adults in the privacy of their own homes should be illegal.” Only half believed that any sexual behavior by adults in their own bedrooms is none of the law’s business. Recently, in a Georgia sodomy case, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the authority of states to ban homosexual acts between consenting adults.

Also, the survey found that 52% of adults think it should be illegal to sell pornography to minors under 18 and an additional 38% think it should be illegal to sell it to anyone. This expression of public sentiment is particularly timely because of a recent report by the Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography, which called for a crackdown by all levels of government on the estimated $8 billion-a-year smut industry.

The Los Angeles Times Poll interviewed 2,405 American adults nationwide by telephone for six days, from July 9 to July 14. Included were 522 registered Republicans and 667 Democrats. The margin of error for the entire survey was 3% in either direction.

412 Fundamentalists

Also among those interviewed were 412 people--representing 17% of the sample--identified by Times Poll Director I. A. Lewis as Christian fundamentalists. These people all said they believe “the Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word”; that they have “tried to encourage someone to believe in Jesus Christ or to accept Him as their Savior,” and that they “have been ‘born again’ or have had a ‘born-again’ experience.” The margin of error just for the fundamentalists was 5%.

In tabulating the fundamentalists’ responses, the poll paid special attention to whites, who outnumber their nonwhite religious brethren by nearly 5 to 1 and have the potential for playing a significant role in the Republican Party’s 1988 presidential nominating process. Christian fundamentalists make up roughly one-sixth of the white population, which usually teeters between Republican and Democratic camps, and one-fourth of the black populace, which traditionally votes solidly Democratic.

White and black Christian fundamentalists basically see eye to eye on religious dogma, of course, and are aligned on some social issues. For instance, roughly six in 10 of the white and nonwhite fundamentalists said they favor a legal ban on homosexual acts.

Blacks, Whites Divided

But white and black fundamentalists are deeply divided over many racial and economic issues. And this prevents them from banding together in a political coalition to champion a national moral crusade.

For one thing, although white fundamentalists said they regard “religious and moral decline” as “the most important problem” facing the nation today, black fundamentalists were most concerned about “unemployment, hunger and poverty”--as was the populace as a whole. A quarter of the white fundamentalists also thought that Washington “has paid too much attention to blacks and other minorities.” Hardly any blacks agreed.

The main reason, however, why there is little prospect for initiating an effective, religion-based moral crusade through the national political process is America’s devotion to the principle of separation of church and state. Even among white fundamentalists, only about one-fifth would tinker with this separation.

Statement by Reagan

Those interviewed were read a 1984 campaign statement by President Reagan and--without being told it was Reagan’s view--were asked whether they agreed or disagreed. The statement was: “Politics and morality are inseparable. And, as morality’s foundation is religion, religion and politics are necessarily related.” White fundamentalists agreed by 4 to 3, but people as a whole disagreed by the same ratio.

When all people were asked whether they would be more likely or less likely to vote for “a political candidate who described himself as an evangelical Christian,” they answered “less likely” by 2 1/2 to 1. However, white fundamentalists responded “more likely” by 3 to 1.

Imaginary Candidates

But even white fundamentalists were divided equally over whether a member of the clergy should run for public office. Among the entire population, it was roughly 4 to 3 against clergymen candidates, with Republicans feeling that way even more than Democrats.

In another test of a cleric’s political appeal, those surveyed were divided into two groups and each was asked to choose between two imaginary candidates for their party’s presidential nomination. The candidates were identified in the same manner to each group, with one important exception: One group was told that a certain candidate was “a Protestant minister.” This identification cost that candidate 29 points in the hypothetical election. Even among white fundamentalists, being identified as a minister cost 10 points.

By 2 1/2 to 1, people disapproved of candidates “who bring in their own religious beliefs when they discuss issues facing the nation.” White fundamentalists were split on this question.

Preaching Political Views

But white fundamentalists, by 3 to 1, disapproved of “clergymen who preach political views in their sermons.” The entire populace disapproved by 4 to 1.

By 4 to 3, people even objected to clergymen who “work actively” for the election of political candidates. White fundamentalists also disapproved slightly.

Regardless of their opposition to organized religion’s involvement in politics, Americans clearly consider themselves to be religious.

Of those interviewed, 96% said they “believe in God or a universal spirit.” Three-fourths said they “believe in life after death.” And two-thirds said they “believe there is a devil who tempts you to evil and a hell to which sinners are condemned.”

About nine in 10 said religion is “important” in their lives.

More than two-thirds also lamented that “life today is getting worse in terms of morals.” And more than half said “religion can answer all or most of today’s problems.”

9 in 10 Were Christian

Roughly nine in 10 of those interviewed said they were Christian. And the Protestant denomination that people most identified with, by far, was Baptist, whose members make up the heart of the fundamentalist movement.

Television preachers had been watched or contributed to financially within the last 30 days by 71% of the white fundamentalists and 44% of all those interviewed.

The TV evangelist that the white fundamentalists identified as the one they have watched most was Billy Graham, followed by Jimmy Swaggart. Farther down the list came a group of preachers consisting of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Oral Roberts, and still lower were Jim Bakker, Robert Schuller and Rex Humbard.

Robertson, 55, a Yale-trained lawyer and Baptist minister who says he is receiving political guidance from the Lord, was not well enough known by almost half of the white fundamentalists for them to have an opinion of him. But among the fundamentalists who did have an impression, it was 3 to 1 favorable.

Robertson Lacks Support

However, not even white fundamentalists were much in a mood to support Robertson for President. When asked whether they would be inclined or not inclined to vote for Robertson if he sought the White House, the fundamentalists with an opinion were disinclined by 6 to 5. More than a third did not know enough about him to express a view.

Registered Republicans, by a whopping 5 to 1, were disinclined to vote for the TV preacher.

By contrast, Republicans by about 2 1/2 to 1 were inclined to vote for Vice President George Bush, the presumed GOP front-runner. White fundamentalists were only slightly inclined to vote for Bush, and, actually, they had no early favorite for the GOP nomination.

Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.), another leading contender, was basically unknown by two-thirds of the white fundamentalists, and the rest were disinclined to support him by 2 to 1. Among Republicans, the conservative congressman was essentially unknown by well over half, and the remainder were divided in their inclinations toward him.

Robertson ‘Not Viable’

Times Poll Director Lewis, after analyzing the survey results, concluded that “Pat Robertson is not a viable presidential candidate.” But he added that Robertson “may well be an important power center within the Republican Party, just as the Rev. Jesse Jackson is a powerful figure in the Democratic Party, even though he, too, is not viable as a presidential candidate.”

In The Times’ survey, blacks by 2 1/2 to 1 were inclined to vote for Jackson. But they were the only group. Democrats as a whole were disinclined to support the black preacher by more than 2 1/2 to 1, and white fundamentalists were disinclined by a resounding 6 to 1.

While Robertson potentially could play the same maverick role within the 1988 Republican nominating process that Jackson did among Democrats in 1984, there are marked dissimilarities in the two situations.

Jackson’s political appeal was primarily racial, and the followers he attracted were mostly blacks, who traditionally vote Democratic. Robertson’s appeal is primarily to white Christian fundamentalists, who are much more ambivalent about voting for a clergyman than blacks are about voting for a member of their own race.

Need to Coax Democrats

Additionally, to be successful, Robertson must coax registered Democrats to switch and vote in the Republican presidential primaries. There are twice as many white fundamentalists who are registered Democrats as are registered Republicans. White fundamentalists now represent only 15% of the Republican Party.

The danger this survey pointed up for other GOP candidates who might slant their campaigns toward Christian fundamentalists is that the fundamentalists’ views frequently are out of kilter with mainstream Republicanism. In fact, there sometimes is a wider gap between the thinking of white fundamentalists and all registered Republicans than there is between the views of fundamentalists and Democrats.

For example, the conservative white fundamentalists are closer to the thinking of rank-and-file Democrats than they are to Republicans on the subjects of quarantining AIDS patients, the death penalty, birth control and parochial school aid. On such issues, the views of the Democrats’ large Roman Catholic and black fundamentalist constituencies often tend to converge with those of white fundamentalists.

Different Agendas

Also, Republicans and Christian fundamentalists tend not to mesh comfortably on a socioeconomic basis and, therefore, they frequently have different political agendas. While Republicans have higher incomes and are better educated than the average voter, the opposite is true of white fundamentalists, the survey showed.

The votes of white fundamentalists, however, could be particularly crucial on what already is being dubbed as “Super Tuesday”--March 8, 1988, when at least 13 states, and possibly several more, plan to hold their presidential primaries. Most of these states are Southern and in the so-called Bible Belt.

As things now stand, roughly four in 10 of the nation’s white Christian fundamentalists could be eligible to vote on Super Tuesday--along with a quarter of the Republicans, a third of the Democrats and nearly half of the blacks.

Among adults now residing in Super Tuesday states, there is a 3 1/2 to 1 inclination not to vote for Pat Robertson, the survey found.

KEY SOCIAL ISSUES

The views of white fundamentalists contrasted with the total population.

White Total Fundamentalists Population AIDS Favor quarantine and isolation of AIDS victims 57% 46%

ERA Favor the Equal Rights Amendment 43 61

SCHOOL PRAYER Favor prayers in public schools 94 71

ABORTION Prohibit federal funds for abortions 38 35

BLACKS AND MINORITIES Think government in Washington:

Paid too much attention to blacks and other minorities 26 19 Paid the right amount 42 41 Paid not enough attention 19 27 Don’t know 13 13

HOMOSEXUALITY Think that homosexual relations between consenting adults in the privacy of their own homes should be:

Legal 23 53 Illegal 65 35 Don’t know 12 12

PORNOGRAPHY Think:

There sould be laws against the distribution of pornography whatever the age 67 38 There should be laws against the distribution of pornography to people under 18 26 There sould be no laws forbidding the distribution of pornography 3 6 Dont know 4 4

Source: Los Angeles Times Poll

CLERGYMAN AS CANDIDATE WHICH HYPOTHETICAL CANDIDATE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AS PRESIDENT? Slightly different questions asked of two separate groups of respondents. Don’t know responses not shown.

DESCRIPTION OF CANDIDATES AS READ TO GROUP 1

Mr. A: He is about 55 years old, he was born and raised in New York City, he is married with two children and is a businessman . . 40% Mr. B: He is about 60 years old, he was born and raised in the Middle West, he is married with one child. . . .35% Mr. B loses by 5 percentage points

DISCRIPTION OF CANDIDATES AS READ TO GROUP 2

Mr. A: he is about 55 years old, he was born and raised in New York City, he is married with two children and is a businessman. . 57% Mr. B He is about 60 years old, he was born and raised in the Middle West, he is married with one child and he is a Protestant minister. . 23% Mr. B. loses by 34 percentage points when he is described as a protestant minister