Pollster says U.S. Catholics see themselves as Americans first

Published: 2004-01-21

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholics in the United States so strongly identify themselves first as Americans before they think of themselves as Catholics that the church is in danger of losing its identity, according to pollster John Zogby. Especially among younger people, religion plays an increasingly smaller part in how people think of themselves, Zogby told an audience Jan. 20 at The Catholic University of America. The tendency of Americans to identify themselves first by nationality means, for one thing, that the "Catholic vote" politicians have sought for generations is really nonexistent, he said. "There are Catholic sensitivities," such as defensiveness when someone insults the pope, he said. But when pollsters study voter data and find that a particular candidate got "X" percentage of Catholic votes, Zogby said those voters probably made their electoral choice for reasons having little or nothing to do with religious beliefs. "They're voting as veterans, as members of an ethnic group or a union, or according to the region they live in as their primary identity," he said. "Only secondarily, or maybe even (thirdly) do they vote as Catholics."

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