What Are Moral Values?

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – November 6, 2008 – Political commentators often refer to "values voters" as those who believe that moral values matter the most when it comes to choosing a presidential candidate. In the past, values voters were a crucial component of the Republican base that helped elect Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush to the White House.

Conducted just before the election, The Harris Poll^® found that about half (51%) of voters said that moral values were very important in deciding which candidate to vote for, however, the moral values most of these people had in mind were the personal characteristics of the candidates – their honesty, integrity and character.

Furthermore, only a few people mentioned abortion or gay rights as important issues when choosing a candidate – a small fraction of those who cared more about the economy, health care, the war in Iraq, taxes, the war on terror, Social Security, immigration, education, foreign policy or the environment.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll, a new nationwide survey of 1,695 likely voters, surveyed online between October 20 and 27, 2008, just before the election, by Harris Interactive^®.

The main findings of this Harris Poll include:

• Among all likely voters, the most important issues in deciding which presidential candidate to support were the economy (68%), health care (37%), taxes (31%) and the war in Iraq (31%);
• Among Obama voters, the most important issues were the economy (75%), health care (51%), war in Iraq (35%), education (23%) and taxes (22%);
• Among McCain voters, the most important issues were the economy (61%), taxes (44%), the war on terror (38%), immigration (24%), health care (22%), and the war in Iraq (22%);
• It should be noted therefore that health care, the war in Iraq and education were much more important to Obama voters, while taxes, the war on terror, immigration – and abortion -- are much more important to McCain supporters;
• However, only 14 percent of McCain supporters (and 4% of Obama supporters) mentioned abortion as being one of their most important issues;
• Many more McCain voters (63%) than Obama voters (39%) said that "moral values" were very important to them;
• However, when these voters were asked what moral values were important to them, they were more likely to refer to the personal character of the candidates, their honesty and integrity (60%), than to what the pundits often refer to as moral or family values (40%). This is true of both Obama voters and McCain voters, although the latter were much more likely to mention family or religious values such as abortion or gay marriage; and,
• Of all the moral values mentioned that fit the stereotype of the "values voter" as portrayed in the media, only abortion was mentioned by a substantial number of people. Relatively few voters, in this election, seemed to think gay marriage or Christian or family values were of great importance. Hardly any mentioned stem cell research.

Remember that when voters say that they prefer a candidate on the basis of "moral values", and/or when they say moral values are very important to them; they are probably referring to a candidate’s personal values, and not the politician’s position on abortion, single sex marriage, Christian beliefs, or stem cell research. If you equate the words "values voters" to "moral voters", caveat lector – let the reader beware!

"Looking at the list of issues, which two or three are most important to you in deciding which presidential candidate you would vote for?"

Base: Likely voters

Note: Percentages may not add to 100% because of rounding.

"How important are moral values to you in deciding which candidate to vote for?"

Base: Likely voters

Note: Percentages may not add to 100% because of rounding.

"What do you mean when you say that moral values are very important to you?

What values do you have in mind? "

(Open Ended Question)

Base: Say "moral values are very important"

"What do you mean when you say that moral values are very important to you?

What values do you have in mind?

(Open Ended Question)

Base: Say "moral values are very important"

"What do you mean when you say that moral values are very important to you?

What values do you have in mind?

(Open Ended Question)

Base: Say "moral values are very important"

This Harris Poll^® was conducted online within the United States between October 20 and 27, 2008 among 2,303 adults (aged 18 and over), of whom 1,695 were likely voters. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

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