My mother recently told me that several years ago she attended a lunch event at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago at which George Gallup Jr. was a featured speaker. My mother is Catholic but a good friend of hers who is an evangelical Christian invited her to go along. Now, my mom's friend is a lovely person-the Moody Bible Institute, however, not such a lovely institution! It is training the current and future generation of radical, right wing extremist Christians how to use the name of Jesus to maintain political dominance (as opposed to all that social justice nonsense that Jesus was always prattling on about). This is the kind of place where George W. Bush is worshipped in practice, if not in theory, more than Jesus Christ.
Anyway, it made me wonder why George Gallup Jr., son of the founder of the Gallup organization and himself the former President of the Gallup Poll and Co-Chairman of The Gallup Organization was speaking to a rabid fundamentalist Christian organization like the Moody Bible Institute?
Well, Mr. Gallup is a devoted Christian. A quick Google search turns up information about him that leads me to believe he is outwardlya moderate, mainstream Christian and an intelligent man. George Gallup Jr. received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University, in the Department of Religion, in 1954. That's a far cry from Bob Jones University, for those of you who don't know. Also, I agree with some of the quotes attributed to him such as this from a speech he delivered at Dallas Baptist University:
George Gallup Jr. has apparently been interested in religion all his life. Much of the work he did at Gallup involved investigating the public's attitudes about religion and faith. He has authored books such as: "Surveying the Religious Landscape: Trends in U.S. Beliefs" as well as a book for church leaders called: "The Gallup Guide Reality Check for 21st Century Churches". Which, by the way is recommended on a site affiliated with James Dobson's "Focus on the Family".
So, George Gallup Jr. no longer works at Gallup, but does his heavy involvement in religion and with religious groups in the United States make you wonder about the current Gallup Poll's results?
Is it far-fetched to assume that since Mr. Gallup would have had (and could continue to exert) considerable influence at the Gallup Poll, that he hired like-minded conservative Christians? Has not George W. Bush based his entire presidency on courting the conservative Christian voter base by adopting their agenda? I think all of us on this site have seen and felt the power of polls to either empower or to dis-empower an election effort. Is the Gallup organization trying to help keep President Bush in office because he is an evangelical Christian?
But wouldn't that undermine the Gallup Poll's reputation for accuracy? Not if they de-railed John Kerry's election effort by throwing his supporters into despair through manipulating or just fabricating the poll results. Because if they succeed in helping Bush win, they win as well by being right in their prediction.
I think it is important for people to have this information when they consider Gallop's accuracy or lack thereof. With control of the Supreme Court and the overturning of Roe v. Wade and other goals tantalizingly within their reach, is it so unreasonable to wonder if the "religious right" is influencing the polling?
