The myth of a church-going gap

Discussion of religion and the 2004 politics has in large part focused around what has become the weekly church-going gap. Polls have shown a remarkable difference between those who attend church weekly and those who attend more often.

The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll for example shows Bush leading Kerry among registered voters who are weekly churchgoers by 57% to 39%, while Kerry has a nearly equally big lead among registered voters who seldom or never attend church, 57% to 41%.

It turns out this gap is really not what it seems. The gap among women who go to church every week is much smaller--52% Bush to 42% for Kerry.

Male regular churchgoers support Bush by a nearly 2-to-1 margin over Kerry. Among white males, t he gap is even larger -- 70% of registered voters in this group support Bush, 27%
Kerry.