FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACTS:
Feb. 8, 2013 Ken
Blake, Ph.D., MTSU Poll Director (615) 210-6187
Jason
Reineke, Ph.D., MTSU Poll Associate Director (615) 494-7746
Trend shows
widespread support for wine in grocery stores endures in Tenn.
Political ideology, religious beliefs important
predictors of opinion
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — With the familiar debate over whether grocery
stores should be allowed to sell wine under Tennessee law, previous results
from the Middle Tennessee State University Poll indicate widespread support for
the proposal.
In
the Spring 2011 statewide poll, 69 percent of Tennesseans said they were in
favor of groceries being allowed to sell wine, while only 17 percent were
opposed and 13 percent were undecided.
This
was an increase in support over spring of 2009, when the poll found 62 percent
of Tennesseans in favor, 26 percent opposed and 12 percent undecided. However,
only the decline in opposition was statistically significant — the other
changes were within the polls’ margins of error.
In
terms of public opinion in the state, opposition to wine in grocery stores
seems to be driven primarily by political ideology and religious beliefs.
The
highest level of support was exhibited by self-identified political liberals
and moderates who said they attended worship services seldom or never. On the
other hand, the highest levels of opposition were exhibited by Tennesseans who
strongly identified with conservative evangelical Christian beliefs.
“Though
business interests and law enforcement are also important parts of the
conversation, in terms of public opinion Tennesseans have clearly been in favor
of grocery stores being allowed to sell wine for some time,” said Jason
Reineke, associate director of the MTSU Poll.
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