Exit Poll Analysis Shows Obama Making Inroads among Religious Voters Religious attendance and the so-called “God Gap”

• Obama increased his share among all church attendance groups, but he made his greatest gains among voters who attend church more than once per week, narrowing a 29-point GOP advantage (64% – 35%) to a 12-point GOP advantage (55% – 43%). This represents an 8-point increase among a strongly Republican group.
• Obama won monthly attenders 53% – 46%, while Kerry lost them 49% – 51%, a 4-point pickup.

Roman Catholics:

• Obama beat McCain soundly among Catholics (55% – 44%), performing better than Kerry in 2004 and Gore in 2000.
• Among white Catholics, Obama narrowed the Republican advantage from Bush’s 13-point advantage (56% – 43%), with McCain holding only a 5-points advantage (52% – 47%). – In a few key states, Obama made significant gains.
• In FL, Catholics swung from the Republican party to the Democratic party. Obama improved upon Kerry’s Catholic performance by 16 percentage points, from trailing by 15 points in 2004 (57% – 42%) to leading by 1 point (50% – 49%) in 2008.
• In IN, a 13-point GOP advantage in 2004 (56%-43%) disappeared, with Catholics split evenly between the candidates (50%-50%). – However, in PA, McCain won Catholics 54%-46%, increasing GOP advantage from Bush’s margin of 52%-48%.

White Evangelicals:

• White evangelicals turned out solidly (23% of the vote) and strongly supported McCain (75% to 24%), but evangelical support for McCain was 5 points lower than support for Bush (79%) in 2004.
• In a number of states (including OH, MO, MI, IN, and NC) white evangelical turnout increased over 2004, but this increase did not favor McCain.
• In NC, white evangelical turnout was up 6 points from 36% to 42%, but McCain’s support (75% to 24%) was down 9 points from the strong advantage Bush held over Kerry (84% to 16%).
• In OH, white evangelical turnout increased by 5 points (from 25% of the electorate in 2004 to 30% in 2008) and McCain’s support (70% to 28%) was down 6 points from Bush’s 76%-24% lead in 2004. – In CO, GOP advantage narrowed by 15 points among white evangelicals, from 86%-14% in 2004 to 71%-27% in 2008.