Religion, Politics, and Polarization

How Religiopolitical Conflict Is Changing Congress and American Democracy

By (author) William V. D'Antonio, Steven A. Tuch, Josiah R. Baker

Not available to order

Publication date:

20 June 2013

Length of book:

172 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442221086

Do the religious affiliations of elected officials shape the way they vote on such key issues as abortion, homosexuality, defense spending, taxes, and welfare spending? In Religion, Politics, and Polarization: How Religiopolitical Conflict is Changing Congress and American Democracy, William D’Antonio, Steven A. Tuch and Josiah R. Baker trace the influence of religion and party in the U.S. Congress over time. For almost four decades these key issues have competed for public attention with health care, war, terrorism, and the growing inequity between the incomes of the middle classes and those of corporate America. The authors examine several contemporary issues and trace the increasing polarization in Congress. They examine whether abortion, defense and welfare spending, and taxes are uniquely polarizing or, rather, models of a more general pattern of increasing ideological division in the U.S. Congress. By examining the impact of religion on these key issues the authors effectively address the question of how the various religious denominations have shaped the House and Senate. Throughout the book they draw on key roll call votes, survey data, and extensive background research to argue that the political ideologies of both parties have become grounded in distinctive religious visions of the good society, in turn influencing the voting patterns of elected officials.

Preface and Acknowledgments
1: Setting the Stage: Culture Wars, Religion, and Congress
2: Religion in Congress: A Historical Overview
3: Religious Composition of the U.S. House and Senate, 1959–2010
4: Abortion: Exemplar of the Polarized Congress?
5: Defense, Taxes, and Welfare: Key Votes in the House and Senate
6: Does Religion Transcend Social Issue Voting? The Relationship between Religion and Congressional Ideology
Steven A. Tuch and Alyx Mark
7: Toeing the Party Line: The Increasing Influence of Partisanship among White Protestants and White Catholics, 1972–2010
Robert P. Jones and Daniel Cox
8: Discussion and Conclusion
Appendix A
Appendix B
Notes
References
Index
About the Authors

There is endless discussion of partisan and ideological polarization and a great deal of talk about the role of religion in American politics. But remarkably, there is not nearly enough work on how polarization and the faith-commitments of our citizens interact. Religion, Politics and Polarization fills that void with enormous care, using data in a creative but rigorous way to illuminate two central questions of our time. And it also helps to explain what is going on inside Congress. D'Antonio, Tuch, and Baker have performed a great service and deserve a wide audience.