And Catholics tend to vote for the winner. So if Democrats have anything to do with it, you'll hear again about Bush's visit to that now famously anti-Catholic university named after Bob Jones. Catholics' loyalties are unpredictable and in flux. Despite a veritable cottage industry of scholars who have studied religion and politics among American Catholics, a single theory that explains the dynamics of Catholic political behavior has eluded their grasp. But politicians and scholars alike know it's important to figure it out.
Catholics are the ultimate swing vote.
Rooted in the immigrant, ethnic, urban culture, Catholics have become increasingly upscale and suburban. His point was that no matter how well-off Jews become, most stick with the Democrats and rally to the cause of outcasts. Across income, regional and educational groups, white Catholics are consistently 8 to 12 percent more Democratic than comparable white Protestants. But the Democrats' advantage is much less than it once was. Younger Catholics are more traditional than their non-Catholic peers and more modernist than formal church teaching.