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3 “Millions of American evangelicals are absolutely shocked by not just the presidential election, but by the entire avalanche of results that came in.” “It’s not that our message — we think abortion is wrong, we think same-sex marriage is wrong — didn’t get out. It did get out.” “It’s that the entire moral landscape has changed. An increasingly secularized America understands our positions, and has rejected them.” – Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., President Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Ky.

Religion & the 2012 Elections Three states approved same-sex marriage (Maryland, Maine, Washington), while one rejected a constitutional amendment to ban it (Minnesota). In Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay person elected to the U.S. Senate. In Rhode Island, David Cicilline was reelected to Congress and in NY, Sean Patrick Maloney was first openly gay candidate elected to Congress 4 CandidatePopular VotePercentageElectoral Votes Barack Obama61,814,18051%332 Mitt Romney58,586,31848%206

Religion & the 2012 Elections Two states approved the recreational use of marijuana (Colorado, Washington). Massachusetts approved the medical use of marijuana, joining California, Nevada, Oregon, Maine and Alaska. Question: Was the result of the 2012 Election a rejection of conservative Christian beliefs and values or did people vote on a basis other than religious belief? 5

Religion & the 2012 Elections 6

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Tulsi Gabbard | Hawaii, District 2 First Hindu elected to Congress Mazie Keiko Hirono | Senator-elect | Hawaii First Asian-American elected to Senate First Buddhist elected to Congress | formerly Hawaii, District 2 Hank Johnson | Georgia, District 4 | Reelected First Black Buddhist in Congress Keith Ellison | Minnesota, District 5 | Reelected First Muslim elected to Congress (Sworn in on Thomas Jefferson’s copy of the Qu’ran) 9

Religion & the 2012 Elections NYTimes article: The evangelical share of the population is both declining and graying, studies show. Large churches like the Southern Baptist Convention and the Assemblies of God, which have provided an organizing base for the Christian right, are losing members. “In the long run, this means that the Republican constituency is going to be shrinking on the religious end as well as the ethnic end,” said James L. Guth, a professor of political science at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. 10

Religion & the 2012 Elections Issues to consider for the future: Growth of non-white America Growth of religious “nones” (20% of America) Secularization of the younger generation (One-third of Americans age 18 to 22 consider themselves atheists, agnostics or nothing in particular.) 70% of those who said they had no religion voted for Mr. Obama. 11

12 “This election signaled the last where a white Christian strategy is workable.” – Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO Public Religion Research Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and education organization Washington, DC

Presidential Faith Questions? Comments?