<http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0513043420101005>
FACTBOX-U.S. Tea Party movement similar to Christian right
Oct 5 (Reuters) - Tea Party supporters who want the U.S. government to play a smaller role in the economy are more likely to back government restrictions on abortion, gay marriage and other social issues, according to a survey released on Tuesday [ID:nN05181993].
Here's a summary of the survey:
OVERLAP WITH CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVES
* 47 percent of Tea Partiers believe the Bible is the literal word of God, compared to 33 percent of Americans as a whole.
* 55 percent say the United States is a Christian nation, compared with 42 percent of the U.S. population.
* 48 percent worry that public officials do not pay enough attention to religion, compared to 34 percent of the population as a whole.
* 46 percent attend religious services at least once a week, compared to 36 percent of the general population.
* 47 percent of self-identified Tea Party members consider themselves part of the Christian conservative movement, and 23 percent of Christian conservatives consider themselves Tea Partiers.
SOCIAL ISSUES
* 58 percent think that minorities get too much government attention, compared to 37 percent of the country as a whole.
* 65 percent say immigrants are a burden on the country, compared to 48 percent of all Americans with that view.
* 18 percent of Tea Party members support same-sex marriage, compared with 37 percent of the population as a whole.
* 36 percent say abortion should be legal, compared with 55 percent of the population as a whole.
* 61 percent say they oppose giving illegal immigrants an opportunity to become citizens, compared with 40 percent of the population as a whole.
ECONOMIC ISSUES
* 83 percent of Tea Party supporters believe government has grown because it is doing things people should be doing for themselves, compared with 56 percent of the U.S. population as a whole.
* 32 percent support increased environmental protection if it costs jobs or raises prices, compared with 59 percent of the population as a whole.
* 47 percent support raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10 per hour, compared with 67 percent of the population as a whole.
* 35 percent say those who earn more than $1 million per year pay too little in taxes, compared with 56 percent of all Americans.
SIZE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TEA PARTY
* Self-identified Tea Partiers account for 11 percent of the U.S. population -- half the size of the Christian conservative movement.
* 20 percent of those who identify with the Republican Party also consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement
* 76 percent of Tea Party members identify with the Republican Party or lean toward it.
* 82 percent say they plan to vote for Republican candidates in the Nov. 2 congressional election.
* 80 percent of Tea Party members are white, compared with 69 percent of the U.S. population as as whole.
SURVEY METHODOLOGY
The Public Religion Research Institute surveyed 3,013 U.S. adults by telephone between Sept. 1 and Sept. 14. It has a margin of error of 2 percentage points for the survey as a whole, and 5.5 percentage points for questions dealing with the Tea Party.