PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES AND RELIGION:
Year 2000 election

Sponsored link.

The next president and vice president of the U.S. will probably be either a Democrat or a Republican. Minor parties (Constitution, Green, Libertarian, Natural Law, Reform) have all fielded candidates, but each will probably only receive a few percent of the votes. Votes for the minor parties will sway total votes to and away from the main parties. However, their chance of gaining power in 2000 is miniscule.   

Listed below are Bush's and Gore's support on a number of religiously-related matters. The table is derived from:

* Stem cell research involves the extraction of special cells from discarded human embryos. They may eventually have the potential to cure Parkinson's, ALS, spinal cord injury, Huntington's, Alzheimer's and other devastating diseases. ₄

The two leading political parties provide American voters with a clear choice on moral and religious issues, except on the death penalty and tax credits for stay-at-home parents. 

Is there a "religious" vote?

According to ReligionToday news summary for 2000-FEB-21: 

"Born-again" voters still may play a key role in the November election, pollster George Barna says. "Many vestiges of the political unity and power of the born-again Christian population are gone," Barna said in a Feb. 17 report. "The Moral Majority has been disbanded. The Christian Coalition has shifted gears and leaders. Pat Robertson has sold his television network. Yet, the born-again constituency may emerge as a key voting bloc in the November presidential election." ₂

...There are just as many born-gain Democrats as Republicans registered to vote, Barna found in a nationwide survey. Other findings: Born-again Christians are more likely to be registered to vote, and they would back Republican George W. Bush (56%) to over Democrat Al Gore (30%). In an election against Gore, Bush would reap 55% of his votes from the born-again constituency, Barna said.

Associated essay:

Reference:

1. "Presidential chart on selected civil rights and constitutional issues," People for the American Way, at: http://www.pfaw.org/issues/right/candidatechart-onepage.pdf You need an Adobe Acrobat Reader attached to your browser to read PDF files. One can be obtained free from: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html 
2. ReligionToday provides free newsletters to which you can subscribe at: http://www.ReligionToday.com. These summaries are part of GOSHEN.net
3. "Presidential Candidates," AREN at: http://www.aren.org/candidates.html
4. M.J. Fox, "A crucial election for medical research," New York Times, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/01/opinion/  

Copyright © 2000
Originally written: 2000-FEB-17
Latest update: 2000-NOV-3
Author: B.A. Robinson