Dr. Gaston Espinosa, nationally recognized scholar on Hispanic evangelicals, directed a scientific survey on Latino Religions and the 2012 elections. Espinosa, in cooperation with the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) also issued and published a survey in 2008.
The survey captures interesting findings particularly on how Hispanic Catholics and Hispanic Evangelicals are currently leaning as it pertains to the Presidential election.
Latino Religions & Politics Survey Summary of Findings
The Latino Religions and Politics Survey differs from other 2012 surveys because…
- It’s recent — completed on October 10, 2012
- It’s the only survey focused exclusively on U.S. Latino religion and political behavior in the Fall of 2012, with questions on the intersection of religion and controversial social, moral, and political issues
- It’s a very large survey of 1,000 Latinos (+/-3.0%); most polls are of 300-750 people
- It’s focused exclusively on likely voters, which is a more accurate sampling method than surveying general or registered voters, since one can be registered but still not be likely to vote
The Latino Religions and Politics Survey captures a number of important findings like…
- Catholics make up 67% of all Latino Christian likely voters, Protestants 32% and Other 1%
- Born-Again Christians have grown to 39% of all Latino likely Christian voters in 2012
- Born-Again and Evangelical Christians make up 88% of all Latino Protestant likely voters
- Top 3 Election Issues? Fixing the Economy, Creating Jobs, and Immigration
- Most Latinos believe their standard of living has remained the same or improved under Obama
- Obama leads among Latino Catholics, Protestants, and Evangelicals, though with some defections
- Romney, for example, received a +5 point bounce with Latino likely voters after the first debate
- Most Latinos believe Obama’s social views are moving the nation in the wrong direction
