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The source of this article is People-Press.org: http://tinyurl.com/5wqen GOP the Religion-Friendly Party But Stem Cell Issue May Help Democrats Released August 24, 2004 Excerpted Summary of Findings As the Republicans gather in New York to nominate George W. Bush for a second term, more Americans see the Republican Party than the Democratic Party as friendly toward religion. And most express comfort with President Bush's reliance on his religious beliefs in making policy decisions. On the issue of gay marriage, Bush and his party benefit from the strong support of religious conservatives and division among Democrats. But a second policy debate with a strong religious linkage embryonic stem cell research is emerging as an issue that may help the Democrats. The stem cell controversy is growing in visibility, and a majority of the public (52%) now feels that the potential benefits of such research are more important than preserving the embryos that would be destroyed up from 43% in March 2002. Significantly, swing voters are much closer to John Kerry's voters than to Bush's supporters on this issue. The Issues Stem Cell Research Public awareness of the debate over stem cell research has increased markedly over the past two years. In March 2002, only about a quarter of Americans (27%) said they had heard a lot about this issue. Today, 42% of Americans say they have heard a lot about the stem cell debate. Nearly all demographic groups express more familiarity with this issue than two years ago, but the shift has been particularly striking among Americans in their 50s and early 60s. Today, more than half of those age 50-64 (54%) say they have heard a lot about the stem cell debate, far more than any other group and nearly double the number in March 2002 (29%). Twice as many college graduates as high school graduates say they have heard a lot about the debate over stem cell research (62%-31%). There are no major political or religious differences in attention to the issue, however. Awareness Matters People who have heard a lot about the stem cell debate are much more supportive of research in this area than are those who have heard little or nothing. By more than two-to-one (63%-28%), those who have heard a great deal about the issue believe it is more important to conduct stem cell research that may result in medical cures than to not destroy the potential life of human embryos. Shifting Sentiment on Stem Cells Overall, a narrow majority of Americans (52%) now say it is more important to conduct stem cell research than to not destroy embryos, up from 43% who expressed this view in March 2002. The shift on this issue has been broad-based, but has been particularly notable among African Americans (16 points), high school graduates (15 points) and those with a moderate level of religious commitment (15 points). Education is clearly associated with opinions on stem cell research, as well as attention to the issue. However, while 61% of college graduates say it is more important to conduct such research than to not destroy embryos more than any other education category -- there has been a bigger shift on this issue among high school graduates. In March 2002, only about a third of high school graduates (34%) said it was more important to pursue stem cell research than to not destroy embryos. In the current survey, nearly half (49%) express that view. Among religious groups, nearly two-thirds of white non-evangelical Christians (65%) now place greater importance on conducting stem cell research than on not destroying embryos; only about half in this group (51%) held that opinion in March 2002. White Catholics also have become much more supportive of stem cell research (55% now, 43% March 2002). Majorities of white evangelical Protestants (53%) and members of all religious denominations who have a high level of religious commitment (52%) continue to say it is more important not to destroy embryos than to conduct stem cell research. However, there has been some movement among these groups to the view that it is more important to engage in stem cell research (seven points among white evangelical Protestants and 13 points among people with a high degree of religious commitment). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn