Here’s a rather odd and, if you buy it, remarkable suggestion: Those who cast their ballots in a church may tend to vote more conservatively, even if they identify themselves any other day, as progressive or independent voters, a new study says.
“The important finding here is that people near a religious building reported slightly but significantly more
conservative social and political attitudes than similar people near a government building,” said study co-author Wade Rowatt, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. “In a close
election, the place where people vote — a school, a church, a government building — could affect the outcome . For example, a higher percentage of people voting in a church instead of a school might vote for a conservative candidate or proposition.”
Scientific American‘s summary (in their excellent daily feature 60-Second Science podcast) includes this line:
…the effect seems to hold, whether you’re Christian, Muslim or agnostic, progressive, independent or conservative.
The study found that when random people were surveyed in front of a church, they gave more socially and politically conservative responses than people surveyed while standing in front of a government building.