National (US) Poll * May 14, 2009 * Notre Dame Should Not Disinvit - Quinnipiac University

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May 14, 2009 - Notre Dame Should Not Disinvite Obama, U.S. Catholics Tell Quinnipiac University National Poll; Attitudes On Abortion Similar Among All U.S. Voters

Word format U.S. voters say 56 - 31 percent, including 60 - 34 percent among Catholic voters, that Notre Dame University should not rescind its invitation to President Barack Obama to speak at the university's commencement, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today.
Observant Catholic voters who attend religious services about once a week say 49 - 43 percent that Notre Dame should keep President Obama on the program, while Catholics who attend services less frequently say 70 - 26 percent that Obama should speak, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University survey of 2,041 registered voters nationwide finds.
Protestants are less forgiving of Obama's pro-choice position as all white Protestants say 51 - 33 percent that the President should be allowed to speak while white evangelical Protestants split with 44 percent saying he should speak and 42 percent saying the invitation should be rescinded.
"Neither Americans overall, nor Roman Catholic voters in particular, think Notre Dame should rescind its invitation to President Obama," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "The strongest opposition to the President's appearance comes from observant Catholics, but more of them than not say he should be allowed to speak."
Given four choices on abortion:
15 percent of all voters, including 13 percent of Catholics and 10 percent of observant Catholics, say abortion should be legal in all cases; 37 percent of all voters, including 37 percent of Catholics and 19 percent of observant Catholics, say abortion should be legal in most cases; 27 percent of all voters, including 28 percent of Catholics and 40 percent of observant Catholics, say abortion should be illegal in most cases; 14 percent of all voters, including 16 percent of Catholics and 26 percent of observant Catholics, say abortion should be illegal in all cases.
"What is interesting and often forgotten about the abortion issue is that despite church teachings, Roman Catholics' views on abortion are pretty much the same as all Americans on the issue," Brown added. "As in many cases, the opposition to the President's invitation to Notre Dame comes from more outspoken members of the Catholic community, but does not represent the overall view of Catholics."
From April 21 - 27, Quinnipiac University surveyed 2,041 registered voters nationwide with a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points.
The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed - http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201.
15. As you may know, some Catholics are calling for Notre Dame to rescind its invitation to President Obama to deliver this year's commencement address because they say his stances on abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research contradict church teaching. Do you think the University of Notre Dame should rescind its invitation to President Obama to give this year's commencement address or not?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Yes 31% 49% 21% 27% 34% 28% 30% 27% 34% No 56 41 66 60 51 61 57 60 56 DK/NA 13 10 13 13 15 11 13 12 10 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. NoColl Coll 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Degree Degree Yes 30% 31% 31% 32% 30% 29% 33% 25% No 57 59 54 54 62 62 53 65 DK/NA 13 10 15 14 8 9 15 10 CATHOLICS.......... WHITE............. ATTEND SERVS BrnAgn Tot Weekly Less Evngl Prot Cath Jew Yes 34% 43% 26% 42% 33% 34% 13% No 60 49 70 44 51 60 75 DK/NA 6 8 4 14 15 6 12
16. Do you think abortion should be legal in all cases, legal in most cases, illegal in most cases or illegal in all cases?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Legal all cases 15% 7% 21% 15% 12% 17% 14% 13% 28% Legal most cases 37 23 45 39 39 35 38 37 29 Illegal most cases 27 43 16 26 30 24 29 22 13 Illegal all cases 14 22 10 12 11 18 13 21 26 DK/NA 7 5 7 7 8 5 6 8 5 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. NoColl Coll 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Degree Degree Legal all cases 22% 15% 11% 14% 16% 18% 14% 18% Legal most cases 29 40 39 36 37 42 36 39 Illegal most cases 23 27 29 26 31 25 27 27 Illegal all cases 23 10 14 17 11 11 16 11 DK/NA 4 7 7 7 5 5 8 5 CATHOLICS.......... WHITE............. ATTEND SERVS BrnAgn Tot Weekly Less Evngl Prot Cath Jew Legal all cases 13% 10% 15% 6% 10% 8% 33% Legal most cases 37 19 55 24 32 42 53 Illegal most cases 28 40 18 40 34 31 11 Illegal all cases 16 26 6 23 16 13 1 DK/NA 6 5 5 7 7 6 1
TREND: Do you think abortion should be legal in all cases, legal in most cases, illegal in most cases or illegal in all cases?(* Combined High also Aug 2007, Dec 2005 and Jul 2005)
COMBINED LEGAL ALL & MOST CASES High Low Apr 29 Jul 17 Aug 16 May 3 Dec 7 Jul 17 Apr 29 2009 2008 2007* 2007 2005* 2008 2009 Legal all cases 15% 19 21 17 19 19 15 Legal most cases 37 38 36 37 38 38 37 Illegal most cases 27 24 24 26 25 24 27 Illegal all cases 14 14 13 13 14 14 14 DK/NA 7 5 6 7 4 5 7