According to this 2006 exit poll, the #1 “moral issue” people considered when going to the polls during this election was the war in Iraq and the #2 issue was poverty. These two issues, classified as “kitchen table” issues, resonated with voters far more than the debates on abortion, gay marriage, and stem cell research. Proving that in fact the Religious Right does not own a monopoly on values and morals, and that perhaps voting one’s values is more closely associated with the prospect of peace and the desire to end poverty then it is with stopping abortions and curbing the rights of homosexual citizens.

Organizations that have been following this “values” issue – like Faith in Public Life, the Religious Action Center, the Pew Forum, and People for the American Way – are not surprised by these findings. Even though I receive daily emails from groups like the Family Research Council and the Christian Coalition urging their supporters in one sentence to “vote their values” and in the next to oppose abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, organizations such as the RAC have been arguing that the Religious Right’s narrow definition of values is misleading and inaccurate and does not properly represent the attitudes of the American public.

A full report of the 2006 Exit Poll by Faith in Public Life is available here.