The Growing Influence of Hispanic Religious Conservatives:A Republican Opportunity Missed
Over 90% of Hispanic Families Are Religious
As a young Mexican American growing up in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas in the 1960s I was heavily influenced by the Catholic faith. Baptism, confirmation, the selection of a padrino (godfather), and a special ritual for 15 year old girls entering womanhood called Quinceañera were everyday cultural-familial events. Many of the women would still wear veils to mass even though the church had ruled it was no longer necessary. There were very few protestant Hispanics.
Today the situation is rapidly changing. Some authorities estimate that between 16% to 20% of previously Catholic Hispanics have switched to a Protestant church within the past few years. Hispanics continue to be religious in high numbers, according to recent survey of Hispanics over age 40, more than 90% considered themselves religious. However, the Catholic Church no longer is the dominant religion of American Hispanics with only 41% of Hispanics remaining Catholic.
The reasons for the exodus are complex. The allegations of abuse by priests and the stringent calls against birth control have played a role for some. But it is not always a story of the Church being too traditional because the fasting growing group of religious Hispanics are actually Evangelicals. Many former Catholics report that they find in Evangelical Protestant churches what they missed in the new American Catholic Church. The fervor of the religious experience, congregational participation in ritual, and a more clear following of strongly held conservative beliefs such as life begins at conception have been shown to be factors in various surveys of converted Hispanic Catholics.
For those that remain active in the Catholic Church, interestingly, their views are similar. Reverence for tradition, sense of personal reward, and feeling of belonging to a community rate as highly valued reasons for remaining Catholic. The majority of Hispanics who attend Catholic services label themselves as “conservative” in political philosophy.
In 2004, when the pope as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger headed the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he wrote a memo that said the “minister of Holy Communion must refuse to distribute it” to Catholic lawmakers who support abortion rights. This means that under Canon Law a priest cannot give a politician who supports legislation supporting abortion communion. In 2007, His Holyness supported a measure requested by the Catholic Church in Mexico to stop giving Communion to Mexican law makers who supported abortion as well.
A spokeswoman for the American Conference of Catholic Bishops created controversy when she excused the giving of communion to Senator John Kerry as saying that the Church ” was not going to act as a policeman” for who gets communion in 2004. So far practicing Catholics who have passed legislation supporting abortion such as the current Democratic candidate for Vice-President Senator Joe Biden continue to receive communion in conflict with Canon Law. Representatives for Democractic law makers have defended the right to take communion under the concept that the lawmakers are actively engaged in trying to reduce the number of abortions being performed.
The recruitment of disenfranchised Hispanics to Protestant faiths has been most successful for Hispanics originating from Central American countries and least successful for Mexican-Americans. The many ties between culture, history, and religion seem to be holding Mexican-Americans more than others to their Catholicism. Reverence for the Virgin Mother who they believe appeared before a Mexican peasant 400 years ago and the role of the Church as a champion for the poor in the Mexican revolution are widely shared among Mexican Americans.
Many traditional Hispanics are troubled by the conflict they see between Papal authority and tradition and a new American progressivism in the Church. The sanctity of family and the priority of religion over secular concerns continue to be major concerns of their everyday life. The unequivocal message they find in the Evangelical movement is appealing to those traditions. Spanish language evangelical radio and television are spreading not only in the United States but also in all of Latin America.
Although George Bush garnered great support from Hispanic evangelicals, the current Republican candidate, John McCain, has not been able to connect with this voter group in the same way. Although some attribute it to the overall negative impact Hispanics may feel towards the Republicans caused by a few anti-immigration zealots, the weakness in support of McCain by mainstream conservative religious organizations probably played just as much a role. In the future this new religious right which is growing faster than any other special interest group will continue to be a significant power player on the American political stage. The Republican failure to address the concerns of Hispanic religious conservatives, both Protestant and Catholic, may prove to be a fatal strategic mistake.
Barack Obama has made statements that although he supports the right to abortion he wants to lower its incidence. Although John McCain in contrast to Barack Obama declared he believes that life begins at conception, he never demonstrated that this was a cornerstone in his value system. The diminishing by both parties of this important issue meant these potential activists may well stay home in this election.
Our Internet Radio Discussion of Conservative Religious Voters and the Candidates
