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Of those who didn't list "moral values" as their primary concern, 5 percent said "economic equality/helping the poor/health care" came to mind when they thought about the term. (It was 2 percent for those who picked moral issues as their top concern.)

To translate this into a gross generalization: If you're not voting mainly on the basis of moral values, you're more than twice as likely to be in the "here comes the Inquisition" camp than in the "poverty is a moral issue" camp. Which may mean that the poor aren't going to be a political priority in the near future. Helping the needy must come from a moral or religious basis, or it won't happen. There's little self-interest in helping the poor. But if folks are more interested in opposing "moral values" in politics than in emphasizing feeding the hungry as a moral value, pity Joe Homeless.

Unless … There may be a chance that Americans simply view social-justice issues like "economic equality/helping the poor/health care" as private concerns, not government concerns. Has Bush's message that "government cannot love, but it can support those who do" been embraced by both Right and Left? This might be a more comforting thought if personal giving to charitable organizations was going up by more than 0.6 percent annually.

When religion news attacks
The tiny village of Knutby, Sweden, has a population of only 550. It's also the center of the country's biggest scandal right now: Pentecostal minister Helge Fossmo's shocking murder-by-proxy of his second wife. (He was tried, but not convicted, on charges of also murdering his first wife.) Last week, an appeals court upheld his conviction. It's a terrible, terrible tale that you can read all about here.

But Weblog would just like to note that many of Knutby's 550 residents are Weblog's relatives, and that Weblog has ties to this village going back to the 1200s. So, on behalf of "my people," I'd like to point out the town's many kind, non-murderous residents and its wonderful medieval church (now Lutheran) that have nothing whatsoever to do with these tragic incidents.

Thank you for your kind attention. (I'm not sure my family would have otherwise forgiven me for linking to this story.) Now for today's miscellaneous links:

Evangelicals & politics:

• Evangelicals want faith rewarded | Christian leaders fear that influence on Bush, despite wide support, could be short-lived (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Religious conservatives optimistic on next four years | No bigger part of the coalition that re-elected President Bush was religious conservatives. Its leaders say they are confident the president will deliver for them in a second term (All Things Considered, NPR)
  
  
• After Bush win, evangelicals push agenda | Evangelical Christian activists in the United States plan to assert their political agenda after playing an important role in President Bush's re-election victory (Day to Day, NPR)
  
  
• Bob Jones sees Bush win as 'reprieve' | Bob Jones III, president of the fundamentalist college that bears his name, has told President Bush he should use his electoral mandate to appoint conservative judges and approve legislation "defined by biblical norm" (Associated Press)
  
  

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November (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48