Trump Has A Catholic Problem

AUG 23, 2016 @ 05:20 PM
Ellen Carmichael

It’s no secret that Donald Trump has struggled among traditionally conservative constituencies. For many Republicans who identify as three-legged stool conservatives (national security, economic policy, social issues), Trump seems far from an appropriate fit for the party’s nomination, and worse, is often outwardly hostile toward their beliefs.

One obvious example is the state of Utah. The most recent Public Opinion Polling survey shows that Trump has a 61% unfavorable rating among voters in the Mormon-majority state that has been reliably Republican for decades. In addition to his abrupt disposition that many Latter Day Saints find unsettling, Trump’s aggression directed at Hispanics and Muslims frightens many Mormons who worry that, given their own history of persecution at the hands of politicians just a century ago, they could be next on his list.

But, there’s a much larger religious group in the U.S. that has, at least for some time now, historically trended rightward but currently finds itself fleeing Trump as the Republican nominee: Roman Catholics. Theirs is the most prominent faith in America, and the growing Catholic community in America isn’t voting for Trump.

Due in part to systemic persecution leading up to the American Revolution, only 40,000 of the nation’s 2.5 million people were Catholic. By 1900, that number grew to 11 million. 50 years later, the Catholic population nearly tripled to 31 million.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellencarmichael/2016/08/23/trump-has-a-catholic-problem/#556fbe36717b