Behind the Asian American Split Vote on Prop 8
December 2, 2008
Community’s religious and political views may have been a factor
Surprised that Asian Americans were divided on Proposition 8, the California constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage? Given this group’s diversity, one should expect the Asian American population to hold a corresponding range of political viewpoints. But for those holding the stereotype of Asian Americans as morally and politically conservative, the community’s majority support of gay marriage comes as quite a revelation.
A simplistic bifurcation of the issue — that 51 percent of Asian Americans saw Prop 8 as a civil rights issue, while the other 49 percent saw it as a moral one — also masks their political attitudes. Instead, other demographic features of the community seem to better explain its voting patterns.
Recent surveys revealing the religious backgrounds of the Asian American population, as well as its political affiliations, can help elucidate the split in the community. Furthermore, Asian American vote clearly varies by ethnicity, albeit in sometimes paradoxical ways. Unfortunately, without access to better poll data on Asian Americans, these explanations of our voting patterns are conjectural.
Asian Americans are both the most religious and the most secular of groups in the United States. Korean and Filipino Americans, in particular, have higher rates of church attendance than any other ethnic group in the nation. They also disproportionately attend evangelical Protestant and Catholic churches, which have promoted the ban.
Overall in California, 84 percent of weekly church attendees voted yes on Prop 8, and one can safely assume that Asian American church attendees voted similarly. Asian Americans meet together in congregations more than any other type of community association, and the strong role of the faith-based organizations in this campaign should not be overlooked. Both politicians and activists need to acknowledge more the influence of faith in the community, and how it affects not only political attitudes but also a host of other behaviors as well.
At the same time, Asian Americans are the most secular of all racial groups in the United States. Almost one out of every four Asian Americans reports having no religion, as compared to 15 percent of all Americans. Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans and Asian Americans under 45 years old are especially likely to say they do not affiliate with any religion.
Just as the non-religious tend to vote more Democrat, they are also more likely to be tolerant and liberal — 90 percent of non-religious Californians opposed the ban on same-sex marriage. Likewise, non-religious Asian Americans probably opposed Prop 8.
Beyond religious membership, party affiliation may also account for Asian Americans’ split vote. Of Asian American voters in California, 33 percent are Democrat and 16 percent are Republican. They generally vote along party lines, so Asian American Democrats probably voted no on 8 and Asian American Republicans probably supported Prop 8.
The majority of Asian American voters, however, are either Independent or non-partisan; in fact, more register as non-partisan than as Democrat. Independent and non-partisan voters are less ideologically driven and vote pragmatically and moderately. Disaffected from party politics, they are more likely to be wary of ballot initiatives and constitutional amendments.
California Independents voted against Prop 8 by a 54 percent to 46 percent margin. It is not a stretch to suggest that independent and non-partisan Asian Americans may have voted no on the ban because they felt that it involved too much government intrusion.
Finally, ethnic diversity within the Asian American population balances out their vote. The National Asian American Survey, conducted in August and September 2008 with 1,891 Californians, reveals some paradoxical results. Japanese Americans and Indian Americans, who supported Barack Obama at higher percentages than the other Asian ethnic groups, said they were more likely to vote yes on the ban. Vietnamese, who were the only Asian American ethnic group to support John McCain, reported they were more likely to vote no on the ban.
Why would liberal Democrats support banning gay marriage and why would conservative Republicans oppose it? Asian ethnic groups are themselves divided by a variety of political opinions, which requires more research to understand.
Clearly, the Asian American vote in California can neither be simply pigeon holed, nor can its support be taken for granted. They can vote as a bloc, as their overwhelming support for President-elect Barack Obama attests. But to harness Asian Americans’ political power, politicians must recognize and engage both their diverse religious and their socio-political backgrounds.
Russell Jeung is an associate professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University. Currently, he is on a Fulbright Fellowship as a visiting professor in Tamkang University, Taiwan.
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As a pastor of an historically JA Christian church that is now multi-Asian and other that did NOT make an issue of Prop 8 and whose members voted ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ I would agree with Dr. Jeung’s findings and fuzzy conclusions. This was potentially such a divisive issue that I personally held my vote on Prop 8 pretty close to my vest. I believe that our NOT jumping on the ‘yes’ bandwagon also sent a message to our people. Not so much what ‘Christians’ should vote but that we would not be drawn into this fight that would put at risk our making inroads into the greater community.