Exit Polls Reveal Voters Turned Against Christian Coalition Agenda
Leaders of The Interfaith Alliance, a grassroots organization of mainstream people of
faith, declared success in their efforts to reclaim the mantle of family values from religious
political extremists.
"Yesterday’s results clearly show that when the Christian Coalition is confronted on
values based terrain by an authentic faith-based voice, the hypocrisy of its so-called
pro-family agenda is exposed for all to see," said Rev. Ken Brooker-Langston of The
Interfaith Alliance.
In 1996 as part of the "Road to Renewal" campaign, The Interfaith Alliance distributed
5,000,000 voter guides across the country covering U.S. House, U.S. Senate and several
statewide and local races. In addition TIA’s 109 chapters held over 75 public forums on
the hypocrisy of the Christian Coalition’s so-called "pro-family" agenda.
"In states such as Washington and North Carolina, where The Interfaith Alliance is
strongest, our grassroots network of thousands of clergy, laity and other concerned
citizens directly engaged Christian Coalition candidates on the fundamental concerns of
values, families and communities. Many of the candidates which Ralph Reed bragged
about electing in 1994, were soundly rejected by voters on Tuesday," said Jill Hanauer,
Executive Director of The Interfaith Alliance.
"TIA succeeded in revealing the Christian Coalition’s partisan core, lifting their veil of
religious authenticity and finally removing its aura of political invincibility. No longer will
the Christian Coalition have a blank check with which to exploit the faith community in the
electoral process," said Rev. Philip Wogaman, Vice-President of The Interfaith Alliance.
Christian Coalition exit polling from 1994 and 1996 shows that even a large percentage of
self identified "religious conservatives" turned against Pat Robertson’s ordained
candidates. In 1994 69% of "religious conservatives" voted for GOP House candidates,
however after two years of pushing the Christian Coalition’s agenda, only 53% of them
voted for GOP candidates in 1996. The Senate margin dropped from 68% in 1994 to 49%
in 1996.
The Interfaith Alliance is a faith-based non-partisan organization of religious leaders and
concerned citizens with a membership drawn from over 45 different faith communities. In
just two years, TIA has grown to include 109 local Alliances in 36 states, dedicated to
promoting values, strengthening families and building community.
"This election made our plan for the next two years clear. We will continue to confront
religious political extremists in a debate over the principles of faith, family and values.
Over the next two years we will replicate state by state, community by community our
grassroots clergy-lead structure of dedicated activists. This work is already well under
way in 38 states," said Jill Hanauer.
