Bush's religion is dividing line among voters

EDINA, Minn. -- At 9:30 last Sunday morning, the organ sounded and the congregation rose from the pews in the soaring, sun-splashed sanctuary of the Colonial Church just outside the center of town here.

Some congregants in their Sunday best, others in jeans, rustled to their feet and then joined together in a 285-year-old hymn, "O God, Our Help in Ages Past."

At the same moment about two miles away, men and women in shorts and jogging shoes, their hair still rumpled, were filling the fat leather chairs at the Caribou Coffee shop in Edina's quaint downtown. An arts festival beckoned outside and as the smell of kettle corn filled the air, the Lord seemed about the last topic on their minds.

This is America on both sides of a Sunday morning divide that has long shaped the nation's social and cultural life, but now increasingly drives elections as well.

As values issues have become more prominent in presidential campaigns over the past generation, a stark fissure has emerged: Voters who attend church more regularly tend to favor Republicans, while those who go less often lean toward the Democrats.

In 2000, against the backdrop of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal, that divide accelerated, with exit polls showing that about three-fifths of Americans who went to church once a week or more voted for George W. Bush, while more than three-fifths of those who never attended preferred Democrat Al Gore.

These trends are so pronounced that most analysts believe they have become an entrenched part of the political landscape.

But with the nation so closely divided, this election is likely to be settled by subtle shifts at the edge of each side's coalition -- such as whether Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John F. Kerry can reduce President Bush's commanding margin slightly among regular churchgoers, or whether the Republican incumbent can improve his weak performance slightly among more secular Americans.

Every denomination

Four years ago, Bush ran more strongly with voters in every major Christian denomination who attended services regularly than those who did not. His best showing was among evangelical Protestants who regularly went to church -- they gave him more than 80 percent of their votes.

Bush might face a greater challenge in maintaining his elevated support among consistent churchgoers in Catholic and mainline Protestant congregations where liberal social-justice messages tend to resound more powerfully and the Iraq war has stirred deep ambivalence.

Some people at Colonial find Bush's open expressions of faith reassuring.

Linda Rich-Meland, a probation officer, said, "I'm glad to know he has a faith, that he gets down on his knees before a higher power and doesn't see himself as the highest power."

Andy Fronek, a mutual funds salesman, responds to Bush's unflinching descriptions of the Iraq war and the struggle against terrorism as a confrontation between good and evil.

But the dominant note in the quiet meeting room is skepticism and even hostility toward the invasion. The Congregationalist faith emphasizes unity, and several lament the international divisions opened by the war.

Megan Fronek, Andy's wife, is outraged over the war and especially the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. She plans on voting against Bush as "my only way to communicate with the rest of the world and say, 'I'm sorry for our lack of humility and our self-righteous pushing our opinions on someone else ... ." Megan's vehemence is a warning sign for Bush: in 2000, she supported him.

Idyllic Edina

Edina, population 45,000, is as close to idyllic as an American suburb gets, with manicured rolling lawns and sprawling houses on quiet streets. It is a place so attuned to quality of life that it was crowned the Healthy Sleep Capital of America when local officials delayed the start of the high school day to let kids catch a few more minutes of shut-eye.

Wealthy, mostly white and solidly Republican for years, Edina and its neighboring communities have followed other affluent, socially moderate Northern suburbs over the past decade in dividing more evenly between the parties. Clinton won the district twice; Bush claimed it narrowly in 2000.

So if Kerry is going to pick up votes that went to Bush, one prime target would be Edina's sporadic churchgoers -- the sort who have flocked to the Caribou Coffee house as potters and painters set up their work for the arts fair that occupied downtown on the first sunny days in weeks.

The frequency of church attendance among those in the coffee house ranged from twice a month to never. Some resented the suggestion that they are less spiritual because they do not practice their faith with the enthusiasm of the president. Some are offended by his open testaments of faith, some admire them. But none consider faith alone reason enough to vote for him.

Steve Casey, a 53-year-old alcohol and drug counselor, was raised a Catholic and once considered entering the priesthood. But 15 years ago, he attended a church service that happened to fall on Flag Day. The patriotic display in his place of worship disturbed him so deeply, he left the church for good.

Bush's proclivity for making references to Scripture in political speeches stirs the same anger now.

"I am very spiritual, but not oriented to a specific religion -- I find what Bush does offensive and dangerous," Casey said.

"You could come to my house with a truckload of money and under no circumstances would I vote for him." Krista Heidgerken, 36, and her boyfriend, Joel Warnert, 39, believe in a higher power, even though they attend their Catholic church only about six times a year, including weddings and baptisms. Bush's openness about his faith fuels their opinion of him as narrow-minded and unreceptive to varying opinions.

Some in each location say they need to learn more about Kerry before deciding whom to support in November. But more indicate their decision will turn mostly on their views about Bush.