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Matches in DBpedia 2014 for { ?s ?p Members of the Catholic Church have been active in the politics of the United States since the mid 19th century. The U.S. has never had an important religious party (unlike Europe and Latin America). There has never been an American Catholic religious party, either local, state or national.In 1776 Catholics comprised less than 1% of the population of the new nation, but their presence grew rapidly after 1840 with immigration from Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland and elsewhere in Catholic Europe from 1840 to 1914, and also from Latin America in the 20th century. Catholics now comprise 25% to 27% of the national vote, with over 68 million members today. 85% of today's Catholics report their faith to be "somewhat" to "very important" to them.From the mid-19th century down to 1964 Catholics were solidly Democratic, sometimes at the 80%-90% level. The Catholics formed a core part of the New Deal Coalition, with overlapping memberships in the Church, labor unions, and big city machines, and the working class, all of which promoted liberal policy positions in domestic affairs and anti-communism during the Cold War. Since the election of a Catholic President in 1960, Catholics have split about 50-50 between the two major parties in national elections.With the decline of unions and big city machines, and with upward mobility into the middle classes, Catholics have drifted away from liberalism and toward conservatism on economic issues (such as taxes). Since the end of the Cold War, their strong anti-Communism has faded in importance. On social issues the Catholic Church takes strong positions against abortion and same-sex marriage and has formed coalitions with Protestant evangelicals.Currently there are 25 Catholics in the United States Senate, 16 Democrats, 9 Republicans, and 134 (out of 435) Catholics in the United States House of Representatives, including the current House Speaker John Boehner. In 2008, Joe Biden became the first Catholic to be elected Vice President of the United States.Religious tensions were major issues in the presidential elections of 1928 when the Democrats nominated Al Smith, a Catholic who was defeated, and in 1960 when the Democrats nominated John F. Kennedy, a Catholic who was elected. For the next three elections, a Catholic would be nominated for the vice presidency by one of the two major parties (Bill Miller in 1964, Ed Muskie in 1968, Tom Eagleton and then Sarge Shriver in 1972), but the ticket would lose. Geraldine Ferraro would continue the tradition in 1984, until it was broken in 2008. A Catholic, John Kerry, lost the 2004 election to incumbent George W. Bush, a Methodist, who may have won the Catholic vote. 2012 was the first election where both major party vice presidential candidates were Catholic, Joe Biden and Paul Ryan.. }

• Catholic_Church_and_politics_in_the_United_States abstract "Members of the Catholic Church have been active in the politics of the United States since the mid 19th century. The U.S. has never had an important religious party (unlike Europe and Latin America). There has never been an American Catholic religious party, either local, state or national.In 1776 Catholics comprised less than 1% of the population of the new nation, but their presence grew rapidly after 1840 with immigration from Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland and elsewhere in Catholic Europe from 1840 to 1914, and also from Latin America in the 20th century. Catholics now comprise 25% to 27% of the national vote, with over 68 million members today. 85% of today's Catholics report their faith to be "somewhat" to "very important" to them.From the mid-19th century down to 1964 Catholics were solidly Democratic, sometimes at the 80%-90% level. The Catholics formed a core part of the New Deal Coalition, with overlapping memberships in the Church, labor unions, and big city machines, and the working class, all of which promoted liberal policy positions in domestic affairs and anti-communism during the Cold War. Since the election of a Catholic President in 1960, Catholics have split about 50-50 between the two major parties in national elections.With the decline of unions and big city machines, and with upward mobility into the middle classes, Catholics have drifted away from liberalism and toward conservatism on economic issues (such as taxes). Since the end of the Cold War, their strong anti-Communism has faded in importance. On social issues the Catholic Church takes strong positions against abortion and same-sex marriage and has formed coalitions with Protestant evangelicals.Currently there are 25 Catholics in the United States Senate, 16 Democrats, 9 Republicans, and 134 (out of 435) Catholics in the United States House of Representatives, including the current House Speaker John Boehner. In 2008, Joe Biden became the first Catholic to be elected Vice President of the United States.Religious tensions were major issues in the presidential elections of 1928 when the Democrats nominated Al Smith, a Catholic who was defeated, and in 1960 when the Democrats nominated John F. Kennedy, a Catholic who was elected. For the next three elections, a Catholic would be nominated for the vice presidency by one of the two major parties (Bill Miller in 1964, Ed Muskie in 1968, Tom Eagleton and then Sarge Shriver in 1972), but the ticket would lose. Geraldine Ferraro would continue the tradition in 1984, until it was broken in 2008. A Catholic, John Kerry, lost the 2004 election to incumbent George W. Bush, a Methodist, who may have won the Catholic vote. 2012 was the first election where both major party vice presidential candidates were Catholic, Joe Biden and Paul Ryan.".