Resent-date: Mon, 19 Sep 1994 10:04:42 EST Sender: Information Repository for News of Interest to GLB* Folk From: PMDAtropos Subject: Religious Right Survey [ Send all responses to OBRIENM@delphi.com. Replies to the list or list editor will be returned ] Americans across the political spectrum share the religious right's view that declining moral values are causing society's major problems but reject many of the movement's solutions, a new nationwide poll suggests. The survey conducted for the liberal group People for the American Way also suggested Democrats abandon their use of the term "radical right" to describe Christian conservatives and instead use "religious right." The organization said Wednesday that its survey offered Democrats and other "progressives" a blueprint for effectively countering the arguments of Christian conservatives without impugning their religious beliefs. In what he interpreted as a troubling sign for Democrats, pollster Geoffrey Garin found that fewer than one-third of Americans viewed the growing role of conservative religious groups in politics as worrisome. Given that, Garin said there was little impetus for Democrats and others who disagree with religious conservatives to organize themselves since they see no "clear and present danger." Garin, who conducted the survey of 1,002 registered voters for People for the American Way between Aug. 1-6, said the language used in debates over values often determines the outcome. For example, Christian conservative groups frequently accuse liberals of trying to give homosexuals "special rights," something that is opposed by a large majority of Americans. Yet the numbers essentially reverse when the issue is framed as providing homosexuals with the same protections against employment and housing discrimination as everyone else. "It is very much an issue of definition," Garin said. Also, the survey found that 53 percent said they were more likely to support a candidate who backed prayer in schools. But that support dropped precipitously when the question was framed in the context of having a teacher or school administrator select the prayer. So when conservatives push school-prayer measures, Democrats should demand that school officials have no role, Garin said. In all, 51 percent of respondents said society's biggest problems were attributable to a decline in moral values; 34 percent blamed economic and financial pressures on family. And 74 percent said they were more likely to vote for a candidate who "put top priority on returning to traditional moral values," while just 7 percent said they were less likely to vote for such a candidate. Yet 80 percent said people in government should not let their private religious views be the top factor in policy decisions. And 41 percent said they would be less likely to support a candidate closely associated with organizations and views of the religious right. Twenty-four percent said they would be more likely to support such a candidate. Garin attributed that finding to most Americans taking a broader view of the values debate than Christian conservative groups, and to majority disagreement with the movement's opposition to abortion rights. Arthur Kropp, People for the American Way's president, warned against using the label "radical right," a favorite of several Democratic leaders, without a substantive list of extremist views to back it up, saying the poll showed it was harder to make that pejorative label stick. For example, 50 percent said it was fair to call religious broadcaster Pat Robertson a leader of the religious right movement, while 26 percent considered that label unfair. Only 25 percent said it was fair to call Robertson a "radical right" leader; 48 percent considered that label unfair. Instead of labels, Garin and Kropp suggested Democrats take issue with specific stands of Christian conservative candidates and organizations. For example, most cultural conservatives oppose any sex education programs that go beyond teaching abstinence. Yet 71 percent of the poll respondents said they would be more likely to support a candidate who "favored comprehensive sex education that starts with abstinence, but also includes information on birth control and disease prevention. obrienm@delphi.com DisNet: 518/462-6134 1200-14.4 V32bis