The Pew Research Center has released a new poll showing that for the first time more than 50% of Americans surveyed believe churches should "stay out of politics" as opposed to "express views". The most interesting part is where the shift is coming from: mostly conservatives who have strong views on contentious issues.
For example, among people who rate gay marriage as a top voting issue, the percentage saying that churches should stay out of politics soared from 25% in 2004 to 50% currently…
Movement also came from those who think both political parties have become "too friendly" with religion. A couple of other tidbits: despite efforts to make inroads with religious voters, Senator Obama receives the same level of support from "white evangelicals" that John Kerry did in 2004 (24%), slightly less than the 29% Al Gore received in 2000. The number of respondents who believe houses of worship should not endorse candidates has stayed roughly the same (66%) as four years ago. You can read the entire report here. (pdf)
