Religious groups compete to mobilize voters

In voter registration drives, sermons, and voter guides, U.S. religious groups from across the ideological spectrum have intensified the level of their political activity this year, prompted in part by right-left culture clashes and the legacy of the tight presidential race in 2000. The debate over same-sex marriage and abortion has energized some religious leaders, and analyst Steven Waldman, who follows religion and politics as editor in chief of the Web site Beliefnet, also sees broader issues at play. "Reelecting Bush is viewed as a major battle in the larger culture war," Waldman said. "Even if you don't agree with him on everything, it's clear among religious conservatives who the right candidate is." Among conservatives mobilizing voters are the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, and the Promise Keepers men's renewal movement. From the liberal side, the National Council of Churches, which represents mainline Protestant and Orthodox Christian denominations, is mounting 16 or more rallies in its first registration and turnout effort, called Let Justice Roll. Some groups are going low-tech (bus tours) and some high-tech (the Internet) to find voters. But all factions speak of 2004 as a watershed year. They say the presidential result in 2000 proved the cliche that every vote counts and underscored believers' responsibility to vote. That sense of civic duty has been heightened by the war on terrorism, since many conservative and liberal religious leaders are at odds over how the United States should react to the security threat. This year has also seen unprecedented outreach by Republican campaigns to voters who regularly worship at their church or synagogue. In 2000 an exit poll done for the Associated Press and other news organizations showed that George W. Bush beat Al Gore by more than 15 percentage points among white voters who attended church at least once a week. However, many congregations have needed no outside prompting to get involved this year. The Southern Baptists are sending an 18-wheel mobile registration truck around the country. The Focus on the Family media ministry has joined the Baptists' "I Vote Values" drive. Call to Renewal, a network of churches focused on fighting poverty, plans a 12-city October bus tour spotlighting that issue. Many are using the Internet, Howard Dean-style. Redeem the Vote, an evangelical clone of Rock the Vote, estimates 50,000 people have registered through its Web site and another 20,000 through appeals on 600 religious radio stations. Why build efforts around churches? Political scientists say active churchgoers vote more regularly than others. "There's really no match for those types of organizations in terms of reach into neighborhoods and legitimacy as a nonpartisan vehicle," says Jerry Jones of the nonreligious Center for Community Change voting project, which targets low-income and minority citizens and counts the National Council of Churches as an ally. Still, the practical impact of these efforts is unclear. The Baptists, for instance, report 20,000 visitors to the truck and 91,000 Web site hits, but only 4,671 visitors actually registered or downloaded registration forms.