David C. Leege

Dual Reference Groups and Political Orientations: An Examination of Evangelically Oriented Catholics

As interest in the cultural bases of American political behavior increases, scholars are paying closer attention to the measurement of religiosity and to the mechanisms by which religious values become politically relevant. This research, based on a parish-connected sample of 2,667 Roman Catholics, enjoins the measurement issue by developing a behavioral scale of evangelically oriented Catholicism and shows the distinctive political orientations of those who score high on it. A striking disjuncture between liberal and conservative positions on different sets of issues is discussed in terms of dual reference groups-Catholics and evangelicals-and the clarity of the message offered by Catholic religious leaders.

Religious Predictors of Catholic Parishioners' Sociopolitical Attitudes: Devotional Style, Closeness to God, Imagery, and Agentic/Communal Religious Identity

Data on 2,667 registered Catholic parishioners surveyed in the Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life were used to assess the ability of devotional style, religious imagery, closeness to God, and agentic/communal religious identity to predict the influence of religious values on specific lifestyle and public policy questions and political ideology. Multiple regression analyses suggest that measures of imagery and devotional style are especially important predictors of the sociopolitical positions held by Catholics. In particular, images depicting God as judge are discussed, along with devotional styles that involve patterns of evangelical-style devotion, meeting minimal religious obligations, and exposure to media ministry. Findings are also compared to results obtained from other studies that have used similar variables as predictors of sociopolitical attitudes.

Social network theory and predictors of religiosity for black and white catholics : Evidence of a black sacred cosmos?

Data drawn from a well-known survey of 2,667 registered U.S. Catholic parishioners (part of the Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life) were used to examine the ways in which black Catholics differ from white Catholics in the patterns - and predictors - of religious devotionalism and spirituality. Black Catholics were found to display higher levels of the more private styles of religious devotion and report a greater frequency of spiritual experiences than white Catholics. Especially interesting are the high rates of participation by black Catholics in a variety of traditional, uniquely Catholic styles of devotion. Contrary to expectations, the correlates of religiosity for black and white Catholics tend to be similar. For both groups, social network variables are the strongest net predictors of every measure of religiosity.

Coalitions, Cues, Strategic Politics, and the Staying Power of the Religious Right, or Why Political Scientists Ought to Pay Attention to Cultural Politics

The decade of the 1980s began with a former naval officer and Southern peanut farmer, a deeply religious, Sunday-school teaching president being unseated by a former sportscaster and union leader, a divorced and remarried Hollywood movie star-turned-politician. The religious right claimed credit for the defeat of that born-again Baptist, convinced that Ronald Reagan and his Republican party would restore the social and moral values that had crumbled, especially under liberal Democratic administrations. It was a heady period for evangelical leaders, quiescent on the public scene, some say since the 1920s, others say the 1950s. They were concerned again not simply with the salvation of souls but the transformation of society. Mastering the new instruments of television and direct marketing appeals, evangelical leaders had money, organizational moxie, and mass followings. They put their moral agenda into the national legislative arena—and came up with few victories. The decade ended as ironically as it began. First, “The Fall”: televangelists Bakker and Swaggart were discredited for their moral peccadillos; faith-healer Oral Roberts, for his lack of business acumen. Televangelist Pat Robertson tried for the presidency but discovered that he could not even gain the support of evangelical leaders. Jerry Falwell, who endorsed George Bush rather than pentecostalist Robertson, chose to disband his Moral Majority and emerged with a much weaker, seldom noticed organization.

An Update on the National Election Studies

1952 and 1976; and to improve measurement of core concepts first created in the earlier Michigan studies, including development of instrumentation and study designs to allow testing of new theories of voting, participation, and public opinion. To carry out this mandate, NES conducts national surveys of the American electorate in presidential and midterm election years and carries out research and development work through pilot studies in odd-numbered years. The mission of NES is to produce high quality data on voting, public opinion, and olitical participation that serve the research needs of a broad commu-

Report on Grant Support from the National Science Foundation

The financial outlook for political scientists seeking support to do basic research has improved substantially during the past year at the National Science Foundation. Previous reports have indicated (PS, Winter 1975; PS, Winter 1976) that the Political Science Program has been budgeted at approximately

Is Political Science Alive and Well and Living at NSF: Reflections of a Program Director at Midstream

1.4 million per annum for the last half decade; its expenditures have normally been within

Religious Roots of Political Orientations: Variations Among American Catholic Parishioners

100,000 plus or minus that figure. In Fiscal Year 1976, however, the Programs budget was increased to

The Politics of Cultural Differences

1.7 million; its expenditures approached

CATHOLICS IN CONTEXT: THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES IN STUDYING AMERICAN CATHOLIC PARISHIONERS

2.2 million. The FY 77 request currently under consideration by the Congress calls for an additional increase in the Programs budget. In short, there is a developing recognition by the Foundation that the research questions and strategies offered by political scientists merit support.