The Public Opinion Project at Harvard University is one of America’s longest and most robust studies of the attitudes of young Americans toward politics and public service. Founded in 2000, the Project is a collaboration between undergraduates and Harvard University Institute of Politics polling director John Della Volpe. Each semester the group develops, conducts and […]

Read a Nov. 13, 2008, story in The Forward, a Jewish weekly, “Black, Jewish Vote for Obama May Signal a Renewed Tie: But the Historic Allies Still Disagree on Many Issues.”

Paul Knitter is the Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions and Culture at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He is an expert in religious pluralism and can talk about how the election can affect the nation’s religious dynamics.

Serene Jones is president of Union Theological Seminary in New York and Roosevelt Professor of Systematic Theology. She can discuss the ways in which Obama’s presidency could move the religious focus from hot-button issues of sexuality to social justice issues, such as poverty and homelessness.

CNN has exit poll data: Click on the “Results” tab and go to “Exit Polls.” The second page has most of the breakdowns by religion.

According to this Dec. 19, 2008, survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, most members of Congress are Protestant, as is most of the country.

An Aug. 27, 2007, Christian Science Monitor profile of Biden, “A frank and abiding faith,” is a good starting point for exploring his personal religious views.

In the Aug. 7, 2008, edition of Time magazine, Obama wrote a brief essay, “Changing Hearts and Minds,” which sets out his personal faith story.

What is clear is that presidents have nearly always been Protestants, with a few exceptions. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has a resource page on “Religion and the Presidency” that shows the religious affiliation of all 44 presidents. “Nearly half the nation’s presidents have been affiliated with the Episcopal or Presbyterian churches,” Pew […]