Politics and religion: Labour should target Muslims, survey finds, Conservatives Jews and Lib Dems... Buddhists
Among Christians, Anglicans are the most consistently authoritarian and conservative, while Catholics are more likely to be left-wing
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Catholics are the most left-wing of Christian groups, while Anglicans tend to vote Conservative, according to the most thorough survey into the link between religion and politics undertaken in the UK.
While religion has been one of the most important factors identified as determining US elections, the relationship between faith and votes is rarely mentioned in the UK.
However, the Christian think-tank, Theos, has released a report today that shows Labour should target the Muslim vote in next year’s general election, while David Cameron is likely to do well among Jews. The Lib Dems did well with Buddhists in 2010.
Theos research director Nick Spencer said: “There are clear and significant alignments between various religious and political camps of which politicians should be aware. At a time when mass party membership, political ideology and party tribalism are at a low ebb, we should pay attention to the big political values that shape our voting behaviour.”
The report also found those who regularly attend religious services are most likely to be pro-welfare. Anglicans are the most consistently authoritarian in their political views.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments