News poll asks leading questions biased against the Church
William D. Haynes
doctoral candidate
I just completed a poll from ABC News and the results will probably be quite disturbing — especially to the Notre Dame/Catholic community. I am not sure if it was a push poll, but it was truly one of the most unfair persecutions of Catholic priests or any member of the clergy I have ever witnessed.
Around 8 p.m. the phone rang and the "private" entry on my caller I.D. appeared. Usually, I would not answer the phone right before "That 70's Show," but since I have started the job hunt lately, I answered the phone.
The young lady on the other end of the line introduced herself as a person conducting a poll for ABC News. I have participated in several polls over the last few years, so I thought I would be a good citizen and let the country feel my pulse.
Her first question was something to the effect of, "Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the Catholic Church?"
Her second question was roughly, "Have you read, heard or seen anything in the news lately about the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests?"
This was followed by several more questions that seemed to become increasingly pejorative. Here is a sample (paraphrasing from memory) of the questions that were asked. The order may not be correct.
"Do you believe that sexual abuse of children by priests has hurt the Catholic Church greatly or not so greatly?"
" ... is a major problem or a minor problem?"
" ... happens often, not so often or infrequently?"
"Do you believe the Catholic Church thinks this is a major problem or a minor problem?"
" ... covers up these incidents, tolerates these incidences or ignores these incidences?"
After a few more of these questions, she asked one that I really had to think about. This was just enough time for me to realize that I really did not know the answer, but the "I don't know" option was not available to me. So I paused and thought about the question.
Then I realized that I really did not know the answer for many of the questions, but I was never given the "I don't know" option. In fact, it became obvious to me, during this pause, that any answer given since the second question would disparage the Catholic Church or its priests.
Go back and look at the questions. Put the questions into the form of a sentence. It happens. It hurts the church. It is a problem. The Church thinks it is a problem. The Church does something wrong. Get the point? I did.
If this questioning was about Judaism and Rabbis it would be seen as anti-Semitic. Replace it with a minority group or the leaders of a minority group, and it would be racist — and rightfully so. Each allowable answer slights the Church.
At this point, I just had to ask her a couple questions. Trying to remain calm, I asked her, "What if I don't know the answer, do I have that option? I mean, can I answer, `I don't know?'"
She replied, "Well, let me see. Oh yeah, you have that option."
"But I wasn't given that option," I said. "Do I have that option on every question, and if so, why wasn't I given that option?"
The poll taker replied, "Well sir, I'm supposed to read the questions exactly as they appear, and that option is not part of the question."
This begged a question from me, "So when conducting this poll, do you always read the same questions in the same order, or do you follow some predetermined script?"
She said, "The agent that has commissioned the poll has a set of questions that we are to ask in the order given, exactly as it is written."
After this answer we had a discussion about the randomness, tenor and fairness of the questions. First, the questions appeared to be leading me to some conclusion that I thought that I had figured out. Second, all of the questions were biased, because they only portrayed the Church in a negative fashion. Finally, if I answered the questions as written, it was not fair to the Church. The questioning addressed an inflammatory issue, asked for leading responses and ignored any positive light.
We decided to return to the questionnaire. I was really expecting her to ask me about snake-handling Southerners or cross-burning Hoosiers, but I was wrong. She kept hammering the Church and its priests, but the questions grew darker. Every question continued to harp on sexual abuse of children by priest. Then the interviewer began to question the Church's moral and legal responsibilities.
Now the gambit was complete. Define a problem. Suggest that it exist. Inflame the interviewee. Offer a solution.
Do all of these in the context of a poll which is guaranteed to substantiate the original thesis.
Is this modern news?
William D. Haynes
doctoral candidate
chemical engineering
Feb. 26, 2002
All Viewpoint Stories for Monday, March 4, 2002
