Download Free The Impact Of Churches On Political Behavior Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online The Impact Of Churches On Political Behavior and write the review.

This volume applies well-known and highly regarded data in a new way and analyzes the impact of churches today on American political attitudes and behavior. These important findings measure how churches serve as political and social contexts and affect voting behavior; party identification; and the positions that local congregations and their membership take on abortion, public prayer, the economy, defense, support for minorities, and other issues. Political scientists, sociologists, and religious scholars will find these new interpretations of survey data clear, well-supported, and carefully qualified. This study of the role of religion in political decision making uses National Election study data, county-level data and the South Bend Community Study. Chapter 1 provides a general overview and introduction. Chapter 2 fills out the discussion about the nature of religious and social contexts and their relationship to churches and their members. These early chapters also define the design and research methodology and describe earlier research on the subject. Chapter 3 considers county-level data and changes relation to religious environments and individual behavior. In chapter 4, findings relating to voting and party identification are covered. Chapter 5 considers voter turnout, attitudes on public policy issues, economic expectations, views on issues relevant to the church. Chapter 6 evaluates church contexts and individual self-evaluations and perceptions about the impact of social contexts. The political influence of church discussion partners is the focus of chapter 7. The final chapter points to the political relevance of churches as contexts and summarizes some of the theoretical conclusions derived from the empirical study. Appendices provide the methodological material about variables and coding schemes needed for understanding the design of the work. A bibliography points to related studies of note.
Evangelical and Catholic groups are transforming Brazilian politics. This book asks why, and what the consequences are for democracy.
Abstract:
The 1988 Election year, showcasing two ordained ministers seeking presidential nomination, made it apparent that religion is an important force on the U.S. political landscape. The result of such visible roles by religious elites raises many questions including the boundaries between the sacred and the secular, the size and importance of various politico/religious constituencies, and the effectiveness of religiously based elite-mass communications. In response, political scientists are devoting an increasing amount of time to studying the interaction of religion and politics. Taking the first step toward answering these questions, Religion and American Political Behavior is a collection of 15 articles written by prominent political scientists. Reflecting the current state of research the articles are diverse and eclectic. They are all written from a behavioral perspective and are based on a careful collection of empirical data. This collection contains a variety of substantive findings that will be of particular value to students and scholars in the social sciences, religion, and political science. The book is divided into three parts. The first part deals directly with the methodological difficulties of measuring religious phenomena. This section also serves as an introduction to students or scholars with little background in this field. The second part constituting the body of the work, confronts the question of how religion affects the political attitudes and beliefs of ordinary citizens. The final part is unique to this collection. Entitled Elite Perspectives, it consists of seven articles with a common theme: the impact of religion on the political behavior of elite members of society, including journalists, lobbyists, public officials, political contributors, and clergy.
Christians are often portrayed as sharing the same political opinions and the same theological foundations for their actions. Yet, from the time of the early church, believers have held a variety of perspectives on the relationship between church and state and what constitutes legitimate political behavior for Christian citizens. Thoroughly Christian political beliefs run the gamut from disavowal of any political responsibility to a complete endorsement of government policies and the belief that the state has been divinely appointed. In Church, State, and Citizen, Sandra F. Joireman has gathered political scientists to examine the relationship between religion and politics as seen from within seven Christian traditions: Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, Anglican, Evangelical and Pentecostal. In each chapter the historical and theological foundations of the tradition are described along with the beliefs regarding the appropriate role of the state and citizen. While all Christian traditions share certain beliefs about faith (e.g., human sin, salvation, Christ's atonement) and political life (e.g. limited government, human rights, the incompleteness and partiality of all political action) there are also profound differences. The authors discuss the contemporary implications of these beliefs both in the United States and in other areas of the world where Christianity is showing increasing vigor.
Both political science and pop culture recognize the importance of religion in explaining political behavior and attitudes. However, questions involving the scope of this impact have not been examined fully. For example, research has not explored the extent to which religiosity aids individuals in organizing their political attitudes. Further, whether religiosity impacts the political behavior and attitudes of African Americans differently from whites has not been addressed. The purpose of this dissertation includes examining the rates of traditional participation and nontraditional participation to assess the where religiosity has its greatest impact; assessing whether religiosity impacts participation rates of whites differently from African-Americans; ascertaining whether any parallels can be drawn between the black church and white churches as mechanisms of political participation in the South: and assessing the impact of religiosity on political attitudes and attitudinal constraint in belief systems.
Asian Americans are a small percentage of the U.S. population, but their numbers are steadily rising—from less than a million in 1960 to more than 15 million today. They are also a remarkably diverse population—representing several ethnicities, religions, and languages—and they enjoy higher levels of education and income than any other U.S. racial group. Historically, socioeconomic status has been a reliable predictor of political behavior. So why has this fast-growing American population, which is doing so well economically, been so little engaged in the U.S. political system? Asian American Political Participation is the most comprehensive study to date of Asian American political behavior, including such key measures as voting, political donations, community organizing, and political protests. The book examines why some groups participate while others do not, why certain civic activities are deemed preferable to others, and why Asian socioeconomic advantage has so far not led to increased political clout. Asian American Political Participation is based on data from the authors’ groundbreaking 2008 National Asian American Survey of more than 5,000 Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, and Japanese Americans. The book shows that the motivations for and impediments to political participation are as diverse as the Asian American population. For example, native-born Asians have higher rates of political participation than their immigrant counterparts, particularly recent adult arrivals who were socialized outside of the United States. Protest activity is the exception, which tends to be higher among immigrants who maintain connections abroad and who engaged in such activity in their country of origin. Surprisingly, factors such as living in a new immigrant destination or in a city with an Asian American elected official do not seem to motivate political behavior—neither does ethnic group solidarity. Instead, hate crimes and racial victimization are the factors that most motivate Asian Americans to participate politically. Involvement in non-political activities such as civic and religious groups also bolsters political participation. Even among Asian groups, socioeconomic advantage does not necessarily translate into high levels of political participation. Chinese Americans, for example, have significantly higher levels of educational attainment than Japanese Americans, but Japanese Americans are far more likely to vote and make political contributions. And Vietnamese Americans, with the lowest levels of education and income, vote and engage in protest politics more than any other group. Lawmakers tend to favor the interests of groups who actively engage the political system, and groups who do not participate at high levels are likely to suffer political consequences in the future. Asian American Political Participation demonstrates that understanding Asian political behavior today can have significant repercussions for Asian American political influence tomorrow.
Though not all people are religious believers, religion has played important historic roles in developing political systems, parties, and policies—affecting believers and nonbelievers alike. This is particularly true in the United States, where scholars have devoted considerable attention to a variety of political phenomena at the intersection of religious belief and identity, including social movements, voting behavior, public opinion, and public policy. These outcomes are motivated by “identity boundary-making” among the religiously affiliated. The contributors to this volume examine two main factors that influence religious identity: the communication of religious ideas and the perceptions of people (including elites) in communicating said ideas. Exploring the Public Effects of Religious Communication on Politics examines an array of religious communication phenomena. These include the media’s role in furthering religious narratives about minority groups, religious strategies that interest groups use to advance their appeal, the variable strength of Islamophobia in cross-national contexts, what qualifies as an “evangelical” identity, and clergy representation of religious and institutional teachings. The volume also provides ways for readers to think about developing new insights into the influence religious communication has on political outcomes.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution forbids the creation of an official state church, and we hear the phrase "separation of church and state" so frequently that it may surprise us to note that no such barrier exists between religion and politics. Religion is, and always has been, woven into the fabric of American political life. In the last two decades, however, the role of religion in politics has become more direct--almost a blunt, self-conscious force in the political process. The national consequences of this "diminishing divide" between religion and politics have brought new groups into politics, altered party coalitions, and influenced campaigns and election results. Churches and other religious institutions have become more actively engaged in the political process, and religious people have increased the level and broadened the range of their political participation. While the public is more accepting of the role of religion in shaping today's political landscape, the issue of how much political power certain religious groups enjoy continues to provoke concern.Drawing on extensive survey data from the Pew Research Center, the National Election Studies, and other sources, The Diminishing Divide illuminates the historical relationship between religion and politics in the United States and explores the ways in which religion will continue to alter the political landscape in the century before us. A historical overview of religion in U.S. politics sets the tone as the book examines the patchwork quilt of American religion and the changing role of religious institutions in American political life since the 1960s. The book explores the complex relations between religion and political attitudes, as well as that of religion and political behavior--particularly with respect to party affiliation and voting habits. Finally, The Diminishing Divide offers a look at the future. As candidates and elected officials increasingly air their personal faith in public places with apparent political intent, and as parishioners are marshaled into political action by clergy and political groups, the authors lay out the background against which religion's power in American political life will be played in the new century.
This text addresses whether and how religion and religious institutions affect American politics. For some time, analysts have argued that the conflicts of the New Deal era rendered cultural differences trivial and placed economic interests at the top of the political agenda. The authors and their collaborators - John C. Green, James L. Guth, Ted G. Jelen, Corwin E. Smidt, Kenneth D. Wald, Michael R. Welch, and Clyde Wilcox - disagree. They find that religious worldviews are still insinuated in American political institutions, and religious institutions still are points of reference. The book profits from the new religiosity measures employed in the 1990 National Election Studies. Part 1 discusses the study of religion in the context of politics. Part II examines religion as a source of group orientation. Part III takes up religious practices and their political ramifications. Part IV does the same for doctrinal and worldview considerations. Part V explores the sources of religious socialisation. In conclusion, Part VI reviews the research on religion and political behaviour and looks ahead to where work should proceed.