Sir, - In early September Joe Carroll wrote about the political change of many Irish Roman Catholics from the Democrat party to Republican and other conservative parties and suggested that positions on abortion were a major reason. This does not seem to be an accurate analysis for several reasons. First, American Roman Catholics, including Irish people, state similar opinions about abortion to the general American public - that is, about 70 per cent hold views that are pro-choice or moderately pro-choice. The abortion rate of Roman Catholics has been slightly higher than that of people in other religious groups.
Also, in the areas of the country with the highest concentration of Irish Roman Catholics, such as the north-east, most Republican leaders, governors and senators, have a pro-choice stance; there would be no point in switching parties over this issue alone.
Paradoxically, and oddly enough, opinions about or positions on abortion do not have a direct correspondence to incidence of abortion. Religious groups in the United States such as Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Anglicans, Quakers, Unitarians, Congregationalists, Reform Jews, Reconstructionist Jews and Conservative (moderate) Jews whose members are overwhelmingly prochoice, have among the lowest rates or incidence of abortion.
Of social issues in America it is race and issues related to race that seem to be the strongest indicator in change from liberal to conservative political allegiance. The strongest nationalist and pro-Provisional IRA Americans, such as Representative Peter King, are the most hostile to blacks. In the 1989 and 1993 contests in New York City between David Dinkins and Rudolph Giuliani, Dinkins had a clear and much stronger pronationalist position than his Republican opponent. Most Irish Catholics were still members of the Democrat party. Yet Irish former Democrats crossed over and voted 85 per cent for the Republican Giuliani in clear race-based voting. Until the Eisenhower years most blacks who were able to register were Republican and Irish Roman Catholics were overwhelmingly members of the Democrat party. As blacks increasingly became Democrat and the main base of the liberal Democrat constituency, Irish voters have steadily switched to the Republicans and in New York to the Conservative party. Republicans cross the waters and become Republicans. - Yours, etc., Rev Dr Robert Helm,
Trinity Presbyterian Church, West 57th Street, New York City, USA.