The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of religious attendance and other cultural variables had on the vote in the 2004 presidential election. I start by first introducing the study and some of the generally held public beliefs. Following this, I review and critique scholarly articles written about the major influences in the 2004 presidential election. I then go on to formulate my own hypotheses and analyze them with a data from the American National Election Studies in 2004. I find that many cultural issues played important roles in George W. Bush's victory. Ultimately, I discuss the implications of my findings on the 2004 presidential election as well as future elections. .
Introduction.
Following the Bush victory in 2004, many media outlets reported massive turnouts from religious blocks to have played a decisive role in the outcome. With this being a constant theme within the mainstream media, I have decided to explore just to what extent religious cleavages amongst individuals impacted voter choice between George W. Bush and John Kerry. As far as campaign platforms went, according to one political analysis "Bush ˜showed himself willing to use religion forcefully to sharpen partisan divisions and highlight his own qualities as a leader,' while John F. Kerry and the Democrats ˜faced obstacles in using religious rhetoric in appealing to religion to underscore his qualities as a leader, and in benefiting from the political organization of religious groups.' " The analysis went on to conclude that "religion ˜was at the heart of the campaign.' " (Guth, Kellstedt, Smidt, and Green, page 224) .
When it came to social issues, Bush took stances that were in line with conservative religious values, including the support of restrictions on abortions, traditional marriage, etc. Kerry, on the other hand, practiced Catholicism but took stances that differed from the official ones held by the religion, such as favoring less restrictions on abortion.
