As reported by iPolitics, one hopes it is a trend that moves south as more orthodox Cathoics realize that supporting a political ideology that advocates for abortion is not good.
An excerpt.
“Catholic voters, once a pillar of support that helped keep the Liberals a dominant force in Canadian politics, have steadily shifted their allegiances in recent years so that the party can no longer count on their votes.
“Two separate studies conclude that the crumbling Catholic vote has played a significant role in Liberal decline in the last three elections.
“It was a substantial and very damaging loss,” said Elisabeth Gidengil, a McGill University professor and author of Dominance and Decline, an upcoming book about the fall of the Liberal party.
“Catholics, along with visible minorities, have traditionally been one of the great pillars of the Liberal vote.”
“The defection of immigrants from the Liberal party has been well documented in the last few years, but the Catholic shift has been mainly confined to the Catholic press.
“Gidengil, one of several authors of a 2009 academic analysis of the last four federal elections, said Catholic support for the Liberals dropped dramatically from 54 per cent in the 2000 election to 30 per cent in 2008. The data came from the expansive Canadian Election Study, an ongoing survey of voting behaviour.
“The Conservatives, the main benefactors, surpassed the Liberals in 2008 by capturing 40 per cent of the Catholic vote.
“A separate analysis by Angus Reid Strategies, based on a survey of voters in the 2004, 2006 and 2008 elections, also found that Catholics have steadily shifted to the Conservatives.
“If I were the Liberals I’d be horrified that I alienated a big chunk of the base,” said Andrew Grenville, an Angus Reid chief research officer.
“I don’t know if they (Catholics) are at the stage where they want to forgive and forget or whether it’s over.”
“Catholics make up 44 per cent of the Canadian population (nearly 15 million people), making it by far the most dominant religion.”
Lampstand Foundation website, http://www.lampstandfoundation.org/
"The sinner is at the very heart of Christianity. Nobody is so competent as the sinner in matters of Christianity. Nobody, except the saint." Charles Peguy (1873-1914)
About
- David H. Lukenbill
- I am a California native, married, we have one daughter and live close to the American River with two cats and all the wild critters we can feed. I am a management consultant to nonprofit organizations and have an Associates of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Public Administration degree, also from the University of San Francisco.