That’s the provocative way David Gibson poses the political question raised by a new Gallup poll on religion and politics. It shows that religious whites break heavily for the GOP — but believers who are Hispanic, Asian, or black break for Democrats. Gibson:
The United States is becoming increasingly “brown,” however. Is it time to start adjusting our lenses? Would we still talk about a “God gap” if most religious voters overall leaned Democratic, but they were mostly members of minority communities?
Excellent question. Based on current trends, whites will be a minority by 2050, and Hispanics will have doubled their percentage of the population, from 14 percent to 28 percent. Pew points out that 82 percent of US population growth between now and then come from the children and grandchildren of today’s Latino immigrants.
Gibson’s question is about media perception of American political dynamics. Here’s an additional one, purely political: Will the rise of minority voting strength, especially among Hispanics, change the Democratic Party with regard to its openness to, and comfort with, religion? Amy Sullivan, what say you?
