wfn.org | UMNS# 606-Clergy's role in election was overstated, observers

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Clergy's role in election was overstated, observers say 

Dec. 21, 2004	

NOTE: This is a sidebar to UMNS story #605 at http://umns.umc.org.

By Tamie Ross

It was unpredicted, yet predictable, as political strategists and campaign
advisers worked in different ways to get out the vote.

Church attendance became a better predictor of vote choice than income,
education, union membership, region or gender. But did pulpit directive
affect the turnout of "church voters" - and how they voted? Can that explain
the outcome of the 2004 elections?

Not likely, said James Matthew Wilson, who teaches political science at
Southern Methodist University in Dallas and is an expert on church-state
issues.

"I think the role of clergy is often overstated," Wilson said. "Secular
people like to think of religious voters as naove, unthinking automatons who
are specifically instructed by their pastors on what candidates to vote for.
For the most part, though, voters don't need specific political direction
from clergy to find the candidates who most closely align with their values."

The Rev. Scot Ocke, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Marysville,
Ohio, jokingly wishes he had that kind of influence.

Ocke said a reaction to a recent sermon he preached on marriage and divorce
illustrated the depth of disagreement over many topics among church members.
Influence, he said, is more a matter of being salt and light than leading
people by the hand.

"Some are very passionate about issues on both sides of the table," Ocke said
of voters in Ohio, a high-profile state in each presidential election. They
believe "strongly their morals were correct for them."

A United Methodist pastor in Oregon said he thinks the church affects more
voters than it influences.

The Rev. Steve Ross, pastor of the McMinnville United Methodist Church, said
those outside the church may have been driven further away by what some
perceive to be a "very triumphalistic attitude among the conservative right."

"When people talk about taking this country back, that sets this type of
person off," Ross said. "To them, they're being told they're unholy or
ungodly and to go away."

Conversely, Ross expects some in his community to become more interested in
religion as a result of the media post-election talk about Christians' role
in the recent vote.

"In my part of the country, 80 percent of the people are unchurched," he
said. "They consider themselves spiritual, but they're highly individualistic
and, at the same time, interested. They might wonder what religion has to
offer, if it obviously can get people together to accomplish something."

Wilson said Oregon provides a good example for anyone looking for answers
about the 2004 election and those to come.

Oregon, viewed as a liberal state, was one of 11 states where the ballot
included a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between a
man and a woman. The amendment was ratified there - and in all 10 other
states.

"I think the last two presidential campaigns have set a pattern that will
endure for the foreseeable future," Wilson said. "The issues at the core of
the values debate - abortion, gay marriage, religion in schools - are not
going to go away any time soon."  

Clergy's role is best limited to presenting voting in the historical context
and limiting personal admonitions, he added.

"Clergy may play a role in helping to emphasize the moral dimension of
politics," he said, "but that is usually the extent of it."

*Ross is a freelance journalist based in Dallas.

News media contact: Tim Tanton, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

You may leave the list at any time by going to
http://umns.umc.org/unsubscribe.html