Catholics evenly split on presidential candidates, Time survey says

Published: 2004-06-15

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholics are evenly split between the likely Democratic and Republican candidates for president, Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and President Bush, according to a survey by Time magazine. Those of all faiths who describe themselves as "very religious" favor Bush over Kerry by 59 percent to 35 percent, while respondents who consider themselves "not religious" chose Kerry over Bush by a margin of 69 percent to 22 percent, the poll showed. The June 2-4 telephone survey of 1,280 adult Americans included an over-sample of 500 Catholics. The margin of error for the overall population was plus or minus 2.7 percentage points, while the margin of error for the Catholic respondents was plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. Thus, the 45 percent of Catholics indicating they supported Kerry versus the 43 percent of Catholics who said they supported Bush was a statistically insignificant difference. The poll on religion and the 2004 presidential race appeared in the magazine's June 21 issue, which appeared on newsstands June 14.

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