c. 2004 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ A majority of American voters now support embryonic stem cell research, according to a new poll released Tuesday (Aug. 24), including 56 percent of “swing voters” who could be wooed by John Kerry’s embrace of the research.

Support for the research has inched up nine points in two years, to 52 percent of all Americans. Support has grown across the board, including among groups like evangelical Protestants and active churchgoers where majorities still oppose the research.

Luis Lugo, the director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life who commissioned the poll, said it remains unclear whether Kerry’s support of embryonic stem cell research is enough to pull votes away from Bush.

“There is a risk (for Bush) there,” he said. “This may be an area that Kerry may get some traction, given the way the numbers are moving in his direction.”

The poll found that Bush supporters continue to be galvanized by social issues _ 78 percent said “moral values” were a priority, second only to terrorism _ while other voters ranked issues like abortion and gay marriage at the bottom.

Lugo said pollsters allowed respondents to decide what “moral values” meant. “I think different voters are going to put different things in there,” he said.

Hoping to energize his base, Bush has come out strongly against gay marriage, an issue that seems to resonate with most voters: 82 percent of Republicans, 46 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of swing voters said they oppose gay marriage.

The issue clearly resonates with evangelicals who attend church at least once a week _ two-thirds listed it as “very important,” compared to only one-quarter of mainline Protestants or 22 percent of Catholics, for example.

“This is 17 percent of registered voters,” Lugo said. “That is not a small constituency. And they greatly care about it.”

But, while the issue may rally Bush loyalists, it is not likely to sway undecided voters _ just 26 percent said it would be a priority. Gay marriage is also more likely to motivate opponents than supporters, although one-third of voters said it would have little impact either way.

Assuming that Bush and Kerry have locked up the support of party stalwarts, the sought-after sliver of swing voters seems most concerned about the economy, followed by health care, terrorism, education and Iraq.

In an election year in which religious faith has loomed large over the campaign trail, the poll showed that voters want their candidates to be open and comfortable with their faith, but bristle at the idea of politicking in the pews.

Seventy-two percent said a president should have “strong religious beliefs,” but 69 percent opposed attempts by parties to mine church directories for supporters, and 65 percent opposed churches endorsing political candidates.

Kerry, a Catholic, has come under immense scrutiny from some bishops for his support of abortion rights. Three-quarters of Catholics said it was “improper” for bishops to threaten to deny him Communion, while 18 percent supported such moves.

“Clearly the American people are making the distinction between religion’s role in public life, and churches’ and synagogues’ role in politics,” Lugo said. “They’re positive toward the first, negative toward the second.”

The poll, conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, surveyed 1,512 adults during the first week of August. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, and 3.5 percentage points for questions that polled registered voters.

DEA/PH END ECKSTROM