“I think to myself, if I’m willing to give something up as somebody who’s been extraordinarily blessed, and give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually think that’s going to make economic sense,” Obama told the audience. “But for me, as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’s teaching that ‘for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.’ ”

Obama’s remarks, like his State of the Union, contrasted sharply with GOP front-runner Mitt Romney’s stance on Americans’ financial struggles (lest you forget, the reverberations from Romney’s declaration that he is not choosing to focus on the “very poor” are still resounding through the blogosphere). But his appeal to religion may draw Americans from some faith backgrounds closer to his message – while leaving others out in the cold.

The new PRRI/RNS Religion News Survey shows the extent to which voters from different Christian denominations believe that the growing gap between the rich and the poor is a critical issue facing the country:

• Approximately half of white mainline Protestant (48%) and Catholic (47%) voters cite the growing gap between the rich and the poor as a critical issue.
• Only one-third (33%) of white evangelical Protestant voters see the growing gap between the rich and the poor as a critical issue—the lowest of any religious group.

If Obama continues to rely on his faith to promote a more populist agenda, it may also results in an increasing level of awareness about his own religious background. As of last July, only 38% of Americans knew that Obama actually was a Christian. Four-in-ten said that they did not know what Obama’s religious beliefs are, while nearly 1-in-5 (18%) wrongly identified him as a Muslim. White mainline Protestants and Catholics are two key religious swing groups, so Obama’s new accent on the role of his Christian faith in advocating for economic fairness measures may resonate with some of these folks. But this speech isn’t likely to bring more white evangelical Protestants into Obama’s corner.

If you missed it, check out our CEO, Dr. Robert P. Jones, on yesterday morning’s edition of the “Washington Journal,” a popular program on C-SPAN. Dr. Jones answered questions from the host about religion, politics, and the 2012 election, and then fielded queries from the audience.

At the National Prayer Breakfast, President Obama reflected on the role that his Christian faith plays in his new emphasis on aiding America’s vulnerable citizens. Noting that he prays daily, he explained that his proposal for the rich, including himself, to pay more in taxes “coincides with Jesus’s teaching that, ‘for unto to whom much is given, much shall be required.’” To learn a bit more about how Obama’s faith has impacted his personal views and political decisions, check out our book chapter on this topic in Mark Rozell’s updated edited volume on Religion and the American Presidency.

In yesterday’s Buzz, I mentioned the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, which is rapidly expanding into a controversy of gargantuan proportions. The influential breast cancer foundation was a major supporter of services at Planned Parenthood clinics across the country, including screenings for breast cancer. Now, the foundation is facing accusations from commentators like CNN’s Laura Sessions Stepp, who say that the Komen Foundation is denying crucial reproductive health services to low-income women.

At CNN, an exploration of whether rank-and-file Catholics are as angered by the Obama administration’s refusal to exempt religiously associated schools, hospitals and social agencies from providing no-cost birth control to employees through their health insurance. It’s entirely possible that lay Catholics see the move as disrespectful to their faith, but it’s also important to remember that 85% of Catholics support expanding access to birth control for women who cannot afford it.

Meanwhile, a prominent Catholic Cardinal publicly lamented the failure of the DREAM Act and encouraged young people to press for more comprehensive immigration reform. A strong majority (58%) of Catholics also agree that illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children should be able to gain legal resident status if they go to college or join the military. However, he may have more difficulty inciting young people to action, since only about 1-in-4 Millennials say that immigration is a critical issue.

A rumor to ponder over the weekend: did Mitt Romney’s infamous Irish setter, Seamus, go on the lam in Canada?

Find a story you’d like to see in Monday’s Buzz? I’d love to take a look – just reply to this email and send me your discovery! Also, don’t forget to share the Buzz with your friends. Send them this link to sign up. For updates and coverage throughout the day, follow us on Facebook or Twitter. Also a reminder that our CEO as well as yours truly are on Twitter: we’re @robertpjones and @PRRIAmelia.

Nearly half (48%) of Republican voters said that Romney has the best chance of defeating Barack Obama in the general election – twice the number who expressed similar confidence in Newt Gingrich (24%). The two candidates are virtually tied on every other attribute we measured:

• When asked which candidate best reflects the core values of the Republican Party, 26% of Republican voters named Romney and 22% named Gingrich.
• Thirty-one percent of Republican voters say that Romney has the best plan to create jobs and promote economic growth, compared to 27% who said the same of Gingrich.
• Thirty-two percent of Republican voters believe that Romney is the most qualified to be President, compared to 34% who believe that Gingrich is most qualified.

White evangelical Protestants are less convinced that Romney is the most electable candidate. Among this crucial Republican primary constituency, voters are split on whether Gingrich (38%) or Romney (40%) is the candidate most likely to defeat Obama in November.

So does this mean that if Romney becomes the Republican nominee (as seems increasingly likely), voters’ reservations about his Mormon faith will evaporate? At Rolling Stone, Rick Perlstein predicts that religious misgivings will fade if Romney ends up facing Obama.

“One thing Republicans understand,” Perlstein argues, “In American elections you have to choose from among only two people – not between the perfect and the good.”

We’ll have to wait until the primary is over to see if he’s right. Until then, who’s excited about the Nevada caucus? According to the National Journal, it’s the place where “the weather is warm and politics can scorch.”

According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in October, “57% of lower-income Republican and Republican-leaning voters said the government does too little for poor people. Just 18% said it does too much.” Higher-income Republicans said just the opposite. The report also found that Republican and GOP-leaning voters with household incomes of less than $30,000 a year were “much more likely than those with incomes of $75,000 or more to say the economic system unfairly favors the wealthy, that Wall Street does more harm than good, and that a few rich people and corporations have too much power.”

Check the report out here.

You can find the video and a transcript of the show here.

Immediately following his epic win in Florida, the media pounced on a statement Romney made to Soledad O’Brien that he’s “not concerned about the very poor.” Liberals and conservatives alike took to the blogs to speculate on how this feeds the narrative that Romney is a wealthy and out-of-touch candidate, even though similar statements he’s made in the past inspired less comment. Since this is an issue that deeply concerns many Americans (half of the public believe that the growing gap between the rich and poor is a critical issue), expect statements like these to continue to serve as media fodder.

At Room for Debate, experts tackle the question of why many Americans (42%, to be precise) would be uncomfortable with a Mormon president, when a recent Pew study plainly shows that Mormons are hard-working and responsible citizens. One other theory: very few Americans interact with a Mormon on a daily (6%) or even occasional (23%) basis. It’s easier to be uncomfortable with people from a background that you’re unfamiliar with (See: The Contact Hypothesis).

Romney heads to Nevada for a caucus on Saturday, presumably savoring his victory in Florida, but according to many, his triumph in the Sunshine State wasn’t all that sunny. For PRRI’s take on the data from the Florida exit polls, head over to our blog.

In other, non-election related news, anti-abortion activists say that this year, they’ll push bills to prohibit abortions at 20 weeks’ gestation, based on the assumption that fetuses can feel pain. They will also work to defund Planned Parenthood (which the Susan G. Komen Foundation, a breast cancer charity, did today). For more on Americans’ complex attitudes toward abortion’s availability, legality and morality, take a look at our report and blog.

And now for something completely different: a lovely, uplifting story about religious cooperation. (Thank you for the tip Neil!)

Find a story you’d like to see in Monday’s Buzz? I’d love to take a look – just reply to this email and send me your discovery! Also, don’t forget to share the Buzz with your friends. Send them this link to sign up. For updates and coverage throughout the day, follow us on Facebook or Twitter. Also a reminder that our CEO as well as yours truly are on Twitter: we’re @robertpjones and @PRRIAmelia.

Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons

Mitt Romney walked away with a decisive victory in Florida yesterday, clutching fistfuls of much-needed momentum for his previously flagging campaign (although, like his rivals, he did not escape the battle for the Sunshine State completely unscathed). The exit polls from this first “mega-state” provide some clues as to how Romney can wrap up the nomination, but they also reveal weaknesses that may continue to vex him through the primary and into the general election. Below, some of the most important findings from the exit polls:

Romney found strong backers among female voters.

Perhaps because of their reservations about Gingrich’s character, women flocked to Romney in the Florida primary, giving him a 24-point advantage over the former Speaker. We’ll have to see how much of this has to do with Republican women’s less favorable feelings about Gingrich, as opposed to their enthusiasm for Romney. A strong majority (61%) of men said that they viewed Gingrich favorably, while women were nearly evenly divided. This gender difference could continue to help Romney through the primary, but once he gets to the general election, it’s more of an open question. After all, President Obama has strong support among female voters too.

Negative campaigning worked.

The barrage of negative advertising that characterized the past ten days left everyone involved (including Tom Brokaw and NBC) licking their wounds. But at least from Romney’s perspective, this bloody free-for-all was a net win. Seventy-one percent of voters polled said that campaign ads were a factor in their vote, and Romney scooped up a majority (53%) of these voters, compared to Gingrich’s 28%. Romney’s victory was even more decisive among the 41% of voters who said the campaign ads were important to their vote (59% went for Romney, compared to only 25% for Gingrich). Some of the ads were almost satirical in their negativity, even if they were pointing to real issues. Who knows what we have to look forward to in the next ten months – but it’s likely that it won’t be pretty.

Romney overcame hurdles among Latino voters.

Despite fears that Romney’s strong stance against popular immigration policies like the DREAM Act would upset his chances among Florida’s sizeable Latino population, Romney carried the Latino vote handily, with 54% of this important demographic voting for him compared to Gingrich’s 29%. Romney also won among voters with a wide range of opinions on the best immigration policy.

The hold outs: White evangelicals and the Tea Party.

Romney performed better among Tea Party supporters and white evangelical Protestants in Florida than he did in South Carolina, which isn’t saying a lot. The Tea Party’s staunchest supporters seem to still be ambivalent about Romney, and while his support is also climbing among evangelicals, both of these important Republican constituencies have yet to embrace Romney. In fact, Gingrich narrowly beat Romney among white evangelical Protestants and born-again Christians (38% vs. 36%), and while Romney carried voters who somewhat support the Tea Party, he lost by a substantial margin among voters who strongly support the Tea Party (28% vs. 33%).

The Washington Post’s “Behind the Numbers” blog points to two other potential vulnerabilities for Romney going forward, including his narrow margin of victory among economically frustrated voters and dissatisfaction among voters who don’t believe that Romney is sufficiently conservative. Electability may, however, win the day – and Romney certainly scored big in that category yesterday.

The Florida primary is over, but as the dust settles, it’s clear that negativity ruled the day. Nearly all – 92% – of the advertisements broadcast in the week before the Florida primary were negative. This doesn’t bode well for those who want a civil presidential campaign. After running what was perhaps the ultimate attack ad, a commercial suggesting that Mitt Romney was a serial killer, Stephen Colbert’s SuperPAC announced that it had raised more than $1 million. For more on Americans’ views on bloody politics, check out our blog.

In a piece for Rolling Stone, Rick Perlstein succinctly lays out why he believes Mitt Romney’s Mormonism won’t matter, using John McCain’s presidency as a blueprint. “One thing Republicans understand,” he writes, “In American elections you have to choose from among only two people – not between the perfect and the good.” Whether this will assuage voters’ anxieties about Romney’s Mormon faith is, as yet, unclear.

A depressing new study from a DC-based advocacy group shows that if 43 percent of households in America experience a significant financial shock (like a primary breadwinner losing his or her job, or a family member’s medical emergency), they will fall into poverty within 3 months. A strong majority (60%) of Americans agree that the country would be better off if the distribution of wealth was more equal, while 39% disagree.

Another, more hopeful study shows that thinking about religion actually boosts people’s willpower, and helps them exert control and delay gratification. I guess I know what to ponder the next time I’m tempted to whip up a batch of these.

Find a story you’d like to see in Monday’s Buzz? I’d love to take a look – just reply to this email and send me your discovery! Also, don’t forget to share the Buzz with your friends. Send them this link to sign up. For updates and coverage throughout the day, follow us on Facebook or Twitter. Also a reminder that our CEO as well as yours truly are on Twitter: we’re @robertpjones and @PRRIAmelia.

Today, Florida’s GOP voters head to the polls. The Florida primary is Mitt Romney’s chance to reassert his place as front-runner, and it looks like he has a good shot. The issue of Gingrich’s character has been reemerging in the past few days, especially among female voters. Meanwhile, at the National Review, Jim Geraghty wonders whether Rick Santorum’s reaction to his daughter’s sudden illness (Santorum canceled campaign stops in favor of being with 3-year-old Bella) will help him in Florida.

If you have been following the fortunes of the Gingrich campaign with more than a little puzzlement, it may comfort you to know that you’re in good company. In a thought-provoking piece, Thomas B. Edsall parses out how it is possible for Gingrich to run as “the first conservative presidential candidate to campaign on a package of traditional values from which he is exempting issues relating to personal sexual behavior.” For Edsall, this signals the collapse of the Christian Right’s moral vision, in favor of “conservative rage at liberal elites”.

The Obama administration’s refusal to exempt religiously affiliated organizations from providing no-cost birth control to their employees through their insurance plans has, unsurprisingly, outraged American Catholic bishops and drawn battle lines on Catholic campuses. In an op-ed for the Washington Post, E.J. Dionne argues that the Church’s leaders had the right to ask for “broader relief” from the HHS regulations. This is a place, however, where Church leaders and many lay Catholics (like Dionne, who says he wishes the Church would be more “open” on contraception) plainly diverge.

For those of you who are wondering how Mitt Romney’s tax rates stack up against previous presidential candidates (none of whom have been paupers), check out this helpful graphic from Talking Points Memo. Only two of the recent candidates (Obama and John McCain) paid Buffett Rule-esque tax rates – which, in case you’ve forgotten, 7-in-10 Americans favor.

Find a story you’d like to see in Monday’s Buzz? I’d love to take a look – just reply to this email and send me your discovery! Also, don’t forget to share the Buzz with your friends. Send them this link to sign up. For updates and coverage throughout the day, follow us on Facebook or Twitter. Also a reminder that our CEO as well as yours truly are on Twitter: we’re @robertpjones and @PRRIAmelia.

If you missed today’s event on “Religion and the American Presidency,” hosted by the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America and featuring a panel of leading scholars, you can listen to it by following the link above. The event kicked off the release of a new book, Religion and the American Presidency, which situates the current election within its historical context. The panelists included:

• Barbara Bradley Hagerty, an author and National Religion Correspondent for NPR
• Dr. Melissa Deckman, Associate Professor of Political Science and Louis L. Goldstein Associate Professor of Public Affairs at Washington College
• Dr. Robert P. Jones CEO, Public Religion Research Institute
• Dr. Mark Rozell, Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University
• Dr. Stephen Schneck, Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America

If you want to check out the book, you can find it on Amazon. An extra incentive to give it a read: the chapter on President Obama’s faith and its role in his 2008 campaign and presidency was co-written by our CEO, Dr. Robert P. Jones, and our Research Director, Daniel Cox.