Two weeks before the 1996 U.S. Senatorial election, Louisiana democratic candidate Mary Landrieu was moderately ahead of Republican Woody Jenkins. But weeks before the election, she received a blow that closed the gap.
New Orleans Archbishop Phillip Hannan told voters if “a person actually believes in Catholic doctrine, then I don’t see how they can vote for Landrieu without a feeling of sin.”
Landrieu won by only .3 percent of the 1.7 million votes cast.
In Louisiana, religion is second only to race in determining voting factors, according to Wayne Parent, political science department chair.
Parent said if an issue is associated with Christian values, “it’s huge.”
The conservative Christian message, however, is not unique to Louisiana, he said – but the state’s Catholic-Protestant mix is.
While the northern part of the state is comfortably nestled in the Bible Belt, South Louisiana is overwhelmingly Catholic, Parent said. Also, all but two or three parishes in the state are either majority Catholic or majority Baptist, which makes for sharp division throughout the state.
“We’ve got this striking demarcation,” Parent said. “That division just adds to the volatility of politics. It makes us more diverse, which makes an election more interesting.”
It also makes the issue of abortion a kicker.
Though Catholics tend to vote more liberally and Protestants tend to vote more conservatively, abortion complicates the division, Parent said.
“It’s just that the Catholic church is so strictly pro-life,” he said. “It confuses any definitive generalization about the political tendencies of the religions.”
Rev. Patti Snyder, pastor of University Presbyterian church, said she thinks religion affects the election choices of the members of her church.
Snyder said, as a minister, she highlights issues central to the Christian faith, but does not endorse or attack specific candidates.
“We believe faith is an everyday thing that affects every part of our lives,” she said. “Even the politicians we choose.”
Rev. Chris Andrews, senior minister of First United Methodist church agreed that faith should be a source of influence in people’s daily lives and voting patterns.
“Unfortunately, some people see little connection between their faith and their actions,” he said.
Andrews said he rarely addresses election issues from the pulpit. He prefers to encourage his congregation to remain active in the political process.
Parent said what pastors like Andrews say can influence their congregations. He also said an election focused on religious issues tends to favor republican candidates, while a focus on economic issues tends to favor democratic candidates.