---
title: "Post-Election Analysis: Politics in the Pulpit"
description: "A new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that compared with 2006, fewer voters encountered information on parties or candidates in their house of worship, and only 6% say they were contacted by religious groups about the election campaign."
date: "2010-11-11"
authors:
  - name: "Joseph Liu"
    job_title: "Guest Contributor"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2010/11/11/post-election-politics-in-the-pulpit/"
categories:
  - "Election 2010"
  - "Religion"
  - "U.S. Elections & Voters"
---

# Post-Election Analysis: Politics in the Pulpit

[![Religion & Politics 2010](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2012/07/RP2010fullcarrot-15px1.gif)](http://features.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/religion/politics/)

*This analysis is a section from a Nov. 11, 2010 survey report by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, [Mixed Reactions to Republican Midterm Win](http://pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/politics/report/675/). Read the [full report](http://pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/politics/report/675/) and [survey methodology](http://pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/politics/report/?pageid=1846).*

Compared with 2006, fewer voters encountered information on parties or candidates in their house of worship. Among registered voters who attend worship services at least once a month, just 16% say election information was available, compared with 25% in 2006. Only 13% say their place of worship provided information about state and local ballot initiatives or constitutional amendments. Even fewer (6%) say their clergy urged them to vote in a particular way, with similar numbers saying they were encouraged to support Republican and Democratic candidates (2% vs. 1%).

![post-election-10-01 10-11-11](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2012/07/post-election-10-01.png)

Among white evangelical Protestants, 16% of churchgoers say campaign information was made available at their place of worship, down from 30% in 2006. Similarly, far fewer Catholics say these materials were made available at their churches this year (10%) than in 2006 (21%). In 2006, both white evangelicals and Catholics heard significantly more than white mainline Protestants about politics in their churches; in 2010, differences between these groups have essentially disappeared.

![post-election-10-02 10-11-11](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2012/07/post-election-10-02.png)

Outside of encountering political information in churches and houses of worship, only 6% say they were contacted by religious groups about the election campaign, a number that differs little across religious groups or levels of worship attendance. For instance, 7% who attend religious services weekly were contacted by a religious group, similar to 4% of those who attend monthly or yearly and 7% of those who attend seldom or never. In addition, 6% of Republicans, Democrats, and independent voters alike were contacted by religious groups about the election.

![post-election-10-03 10-11-11](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2012/07/post-election-10-03.png)

Photo credit: BuzzFoto/FilmMagic