Thank Catholics for the Huge GOP Victory?

I'm always highly skeptical of election exit poll analysis, since analysts usually overstate the effects of whatever results they choose to highlight. [For example, I could just as easily have made this post about gay voters.] But having said that, I came across an interesting article on the role played by religious voters in this election. The breakdown was similar to the 2008 vote, although Republicans gained overall as you might expect. But there was one glaring difference.

Catholic voters, who had favored Democratic over Republican candidates by double-digit margins in the last two congressional elections, swung to the GOP in 2010.

It's interesting that Catholics would shift more dramatically, and actually switch from majority Democrat to majority Republican support. I'm not sure why Catholics in particular would abandon the Democrats. But whatever the reasons, let's hope that trend continues.