Bishop William Murphy, the religious leader of Long Island's 1.5 million faithful Catholics, is urging followers not to vote for any pro-choice candidates.

A letter by the head of the Diocese of Rockville Centre read during Sunday Mass said support for abortion should "disqualify any and every such candidate from receiving our vote."

A spokesperson for the diocese says it is not an endorsement of any candidate. A statement to News 12 says the letter was "the bishop sharing his thoughts on what to consider when a Catholic votes."

But according to some political experts, religious leaders expressing their opinions on issues like abortion has had less and less of it of an impact on voters. They say many people are more focused on other factors.

"They tend to be focused on taxes, they tend to be focused on terrorism, on crime," says political analyst Jerry Kremer. "But it's another point of view that may affect some people. We think it's a great phenomenon here in New York, but this happens all over the country."