Angus Reid Poll: Canadians Clearly Want Religion Disconnected from Politics

[VANCOUVER – Aug. 6, 2008] – As talk of an early federal election intensifies, Canadians are adamant about keeping politics and religion away from each other, a new Angus Reid Strategies poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample, 82 per cent of respondents consider it inappropriate for religious leaders to urge people to vote for or against a political candidate.

The highest level of rejection for this practice comes in Quebec (89%) and Manitoba and Saskatchewan (89%). Respondents over the age of 55 (88%) and those with a high school education or less (87%) also deem this action inappropriate.

Two-thirds of Canadians (66%) believe it is inappropriate for political candidates to talk about their religious beliefs as part of their campaigns, while one-in-four (25%) considers these actions as appropriate.

Alberta appeared to buck the national trend, boasting the highest proportion of respondents (36%) who believe that it is appropriate for politicians to talk about their religious beliefs. Conversely, Quebecers (78%) and respondents with a high school education or less (70%) seemed more upset at the thought of politicians discussing religion.

When the results are analyzed by political allegiance, one-in-five Conservative Party voters (21%) believe it is appropriate for religious leaders to urge people to vote for or against a political candidate, while less than 10 per cent of supporters of the other three parties currently represented in the House of Commons concur.

In addition, almost two-in-five Tory supporters (39%) think it is appropriate for political candidates to talk about their religious beliefs as part of their campaigns, while less than one-in-four backers of the other major federal parties agree.