Religion and the public agenda

A polling organization called Public Agenda has placed a report on the web that suggests that people here in the US are less willing than previously to believe that elected officials are right to compromise.

“Compromise has a long and important history in American politics,” said Ruth A. Wooden, President of Public Agenda. “But in 2004, there were more Americans who wanted elected officials to keep their religious principles in mind when they vote on issues like abortion and gay rights. We found double-digit decreases in support for compromise on these issues among those who attend services weekly and among Catholics. The changes are really quite dramatic.”

The data itself was collected prior to the November election, and some of the questions are much more interesting -- and less provocative -- than that quote from the press release would suggest. The whole report is available for free download, if you're willing to register at the site (it's not clear to me whether such registration will bring you a barrage of mail).