Contact: Corwin Smidt, Henry Institute at Calvin College, 616-526-6233, smid@calvin.edu

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., June 5 /Christian Newswire/ -- A national news conference will be held Monday to discuss the results of the Henry Institute National Survey on Religion and Public Life, conducted April 8 to May 10, 2008 (N=3002). This survey employed numerous questions addressing aspects of religious beliefs, religious affiliation, and religious behavior in its effort to understand political differences both between and within different religious groups.

Monday, June 9, 2008 at the National Press Club, Zenger Room
8:45 to 9:30 am: Continental breakfast will be served
9:30 to 10:45 am: Panel presentation of findings and discussion of results

This press conference will release the findings of this new national survey with regard to religion and the 2008 presidential election -- addressing both the opportunities and obstacles that the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates have in wooing different religious communities in the groups.

The panel presentation will provide an overview of the findings, as well as more focused analysis of the four largest religious groups in the electorate (i.e., evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants, Roman Catholics, and seculars) addressing such questions as the extent to which evangelicals may be moving toward the Democratic Party in 2008, whether mainline Protestants are continuing their drift away from the Republican Party, whether Catholics are less likely to support Barack Obama than Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee, and whether Jews are more likely to support McCain in 2008 than Bush in 2004.

  The panelists will include:
  Corwin Smidt, Director, the Henry Institute, Calvin College
  Kevin den Dulk, Dept. of Political Science, Grand Valley State University
  Douglas Koopman, Dept. of Political Science, Calvin College
  James Penning, Director, Center for Social Research, Calvin College

RSVP required.  Please email: henry@calvin.edu or call 616-526-6233.

The Henry Institute National Survey on Religion and Public Life was conducted by Opinion Access Corp. of Long Island, New York. Depending upon the respondent, interviews were conducted in either English or Spanish.