By David Eck and Eileen Connelly, OSU

ARCHDIOCESE — With the 2008 election now over, local political and religious educators are weighing in on the meaning and impact of the Catholic vote. Like much of the nation, an analysis of the Nov. 4 vote shows that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama got plenty of support from Catholics throughout the United States, as well as in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

"The early numbers, at least, show that Catholics did move in the direction of Barack Obama," said Chris Duncan, professor and chair of the political science department at the University of Dayton. "Certainly, a majority of Catholics voted for Obama. It was a good election for the Democrats across the board in terms of the gains they made in the (United States) House and Senate."

While values issues are typically a concern of Catholic voters, these seem to have been overshadowed by the economy this election, Duncan said. In essence, ongoing economic concerns drove the surge for Obama and change, while Republican nominee U.S. Sen. John McCain did not back the typical values issues.

An area where President-elect Obama may find himself on the opposite side of Catholics, though, is in stem-cell research. Obama has signaled that he may overturn a ban on the controversial practice by executive order.

"Certainly, there will be a sector of the Catholic press that will make quite a bit of hay out that," Duncan said.

As for the Catholic vote itself, typically voters who say they are Catholic make up 25 percent of the electorate, Duncan said. They could be even more significant because they tend to turn out for elections more so than other groups, which could make them 33 percent of those who vote.

But their impact is diluted; they don’t vote as a block. A typical breakdown of Catholic voters would show that about 27 percent are liberal, about 46 percent are in the middle voting one way or the other, while about 23 percent are conservative.

"We tend to be a 50-50 faith, like we are a 50-50 country," Duncan said.

Still, Catholics may see the Obama administration eventually make some progress on broad issues that interest them such as health care coverage, Duncan said. Another concern of Catholic voters is making sure economic "rescue" plans that benefit corporations are also prudent for average Americans, who are seeing national debt being piled up that will be passed on to generations.

However, basic concerns on larger questions are going to be in line until the financial crises and the war in Iraq are resolved, Duncan said.

"We’ve got some basic issues we need to confront," Duncan said. "Those class issues are going to matter to (Catholics) regardless of their Catholicism."

Gene Beaupre, director for government relations and professor of political science at Xavier University, agreed with Duncan’s take on what influenced the Catholic vote.

"Clearly what is on everybody’s mind is the economy," Beaupre said. "It really came down to who people think can lead us out of this. I think some issues, even issues that would be on the Catholic agenda, might have had less intensity than who can we trust, who can relate to us the most."

Beaupre, along with sophomores in XU’s philosophy, politics and the public honors program, was on hand at the Hamilton County Board of Elections on Nov. 4 to provide analysis and interviews on local races and issues as part CitiCable’s election coverage. CitiCable is the government access channel for the City of Cincinnati. He said the Catholic vote also factored into the outcome of local races, including Democratic state Rep. Steve Driehaus’ win over U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, the Republican incumbent, for Ohio’s 1st Congressional District.

"Driehaus is a very strong Catholic, and there are many Catholics in his district," Beaupre said. "His election is an indication that the issue of the economy had a trickle-down effect in this race, as well."

In regard to Catholic responsibility now that the election is over, Beaupre said, "It is up to each Catholic to determine his or her priorities. The Catholic faith involves a set of values, including respect for life, but it also has a rich set of values regarding social issues. That’s incredibly important right now in the current economic situation. People need to advocate for a balance in those values. The social issues are as much as part of the Catholic agenda as anything else."

Jozef Zalot, an assistant professor of religious studies at the College of Mount St. Joseph, also agreed that the economy, along with Americans’ desire for change, was a driving force behind the election results, whether voters were Catholic or not.

"I think the idea of change, whatever that means, appeals to people," he said. "People are tired of the current administration, good or bad, and the impression was that McCain represents that. People felt there wouldn’t be significant change."

Regarding the issues of abortion and stem-cell research, Zalot urges Catholics to "pressure your representatives in terms of their votes and make it known to the Obama administration through email or calling him on the White House switchboard that we may support him on a lot of policy issues, but there are certain things that are non-negotiable for Catholics and, if he wants to earn our votes, he has to listen to our voices."

Zalot, the author of Catholic Ethics in Today’s World, also encourages Catholics to be educated about the issues, saying, "It’s important for people to understand the reality of the issues. The media doesn’t do it. It has its biases. As a result, people don’t know the whole story. We have a responsibility to become educated on exactly what the issues are."