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Conservative Drop In Trust in Science

Just 35 percent of self-identified conservatives reported having “a great deal of trust in science” in a new report published in the journal American Sociological Review. The find marks a precipitous drop of 28 percent since the first survey was taken in 1974. At that time 48 percent of conservatives — about the same percentage as liberals — had significant trust in science. Moderates and liberals have remained flat. Liberals, most likely due to the fact that they are better educated, are more likely to believe in science than either moderates or conservatives. via Think Progress

Voter Gender Gap

Barack Obama’s advantages among women voters over his GOP rivals remain substantial. Obama led Mitt Romney by 20 points (58% to 38%) among women voters and Rick Santorum by 26 points (61% to 35%) in the Pew Research Center’s most recent national survey, conducted March 7-11. Obama runs about even with Romney among men and leads Santorum.

In surveys of registered voters this year, 52% of women identify with the Democratic Party or lean Democratic, compared to 43% of men. This gender gap dates back to 1990. In 2008 even more women — 56% — called themselves Democrats.

Obama has a massive lead of 30 points over Romney among women 18-49; 18 points ages 50-64 and a 1 point 48/49 tie with women 65+.

With so few women in Congress and most Republican women representing the conservative forces and more ‘male’ viewpoint, the statistically prevalent views among women voters are rarely heard when Republican men especially say “the people want” or “the people believe”.

More DFR

Religion in Politics

Also from PEW Research is a new survey saying the public is at an all-time high in unease over how much talk of religion is mixed with politics.

A decade ago when PEW first tracked the question 60 percent of respondents were comfortable that the right amount of talk about religion was heard in politics. That number plunged in 2003 to 29 percent, a few years into the Bush administration and sank to 24/25 percent in 2010/2012.

With a 35 point plunge in people saying politicians spent the right amount of time talking about religion, those who said they heard too much talk of religion in politics rose 26 points from 12 to 38 percent. After a dramatic increase from 22 to 41 percent of people believing there is too little talk of religion in politics in the early Bush years, that number flat lined throughout the decade before dropping sharply from 37 to 30 from 2010 to 2012.

Prayer Comes to Kansas State House

Kansas is at the forefront of the nation is passing legislation that seeks to control women’s reproductive health. So for the Kansas legislature to murmur that Father James Gordon of St John Vianney Catholic school’s address to the Kansas House of Representatives was too political suggests it was quite a barnburner, writes LJWorld.com.

“We ask you to strengthen our understanding of traditional marriage: one man and one woman. We ask you to bring us back to virtuous morals in society, morals that kept us from killing a child in the womb through abortion. We ask you to defend us now in the fight for true religious freedom and freedom of conscience, that seems to be threatened now in the public sphere.”

Perhaps an act of civil disobedience, Father Gordon clearly disobeyed boundaries set by the House that invited guests who lead the daily prayer are supposed to be neutral and deliver prayers that are free of politics and not divisive.