A dynamic young scholar and journalist explains how the Democrats lost the Catholic vote, and how they must win it back in order to survive in the twenty-first century. In 1960, Democrats and Catholics united to elect John F. Kennedy America's first Catholic president. As we approach the 2008 presidential election, the Democratic party is in shambles and the Catholic vote has shifted to the GOP. What has become of the historic partnership between Catholics and the Democratic party? In Left at the Altar , Michael Sean Winters chronicles the rise and fall of this vital alliance, and offers compelling arguments for its revival. For the Democrats, the stakes could not be higher: The explosive growth of the Latino population will make the Catholic vote decisive in the twenty-first century. The stakes are high for Catholics, too: In their defection to the Republican party, Catholics have drifted from their traditional advocacy of core values including peace and social justice.