The voting record for Catholic women is even more remarkable, showing both a religious gap and a gender gap. More important than numbers alone is the fact that the Catholic vote is up for grabs. To the immense frustration of politicians and political scientists, they no longer fit dependably into the old political categories. These are all traditional Republican themes. Nor can politicians discover the key to the Catholic vote by looking to church teachings.
Catholics follow church doctrine only selectively, when they know it at all.
Catholics use birth control and have abortions at the same rate as the rest of the country, are quite tolerant of gays but are in favor of the death penalty and nuclear weapons. As a result, Republicans and Democrats make symbolic gestures and appeal to that part of the Catholic ethos they think will bring them a majority of votes. But both political parties have serious difficulties with Catholics. First, a look at Republicans. Republicans have a complex history with Catholicism that, while not now well known, has left lingering suspicions.