James L. Guth

Faith and the Environment: Religious Beliefs and Attitudes on Environmental Policy

Theory: Conservative Christian theology contains a set of beliefs that run counter to the philosophy supporting environmentalism. Hypotheses: Conservative eschatology (Biblical literalism, End Times thinking), religious tradition, and religious commitment should be negatively related to support for environmental policy. Data: Using data from four national surveys of clergy, religious activists, political-party contributors, and the mass public, we analyze the impact of religious variables on attitudes toward environmental protection. Results: We find that conservative eschatology, religious tradition, and religious commitment all have strong bivariate associations with environmentalism. In multivariate analyses, however, conservative eschatology proves by far the strongest religious predictor of environmental perspectives, although other measures exert occasional influence.

The Christian Right in the Republican Party: The Case of Pat Robertson's Supporters

Using the results of an extensive mail survey of donors to Republican presidential candidate and party committees, we compare contributors to Pat Robertsons campaign with donors to right-wing and mainstream Republican committees. While measures of salience, ideology, religiosity, demography and partisanship show Robertson supporters to be distinctive in expected ways, they are remarkably similar to other kinds of Republicans in many other respects. These findings suggest that the Christian Right will be eventually assimilated into the Republican party.

Theological Perspectives and Environmentalism Among Religious Activists

Using data from a survey of activists (N = 4,995) from several large religious interest groups, we analyze the impact of theological orientations on attitudes toward the environment. We find that doctrinal fundamentalism, carefully defined, is a powerful predictor of environmental preferences. We also discover that views on environmental policy are part of much more comprehensive religious and political worldviews among these religious activists.

Religion and Youth Support for the European Union

Religion is an important influence on adult attitudes toward European integration, as devout Catholics strongly support integration, while committed Protestants are less enthusiastic. Here we consider whether this relationship holds for reputedly secularized European youth. Using Eurobarometer 47.2OVR, we show that devout Catholic and Orthodox youth do in fact support the European Union, as do committed Protestants, and generically religious youths, but at lower levels. Atheists and agnostics are more critical of the EU. High levels of social capital and pro-immigration sentiments also predict euro-enthusiasm. We conclude by analysing the variation in youth attitudes across Member States.

THE POLITICS OF RELIGION IN AMERICA Issues for Investigation

This article seeks (1) to bring some coherence to a growing, but rather disparate, volume of “religion and politics” research, and (2) to chart some directions for future research. Given the vast nature of the field of inquiry, the focus of the discussion is limited specifically to behavioral studies of the role of religion in American political life.

The Sources of Antiabortion Attitudes The Case of Religious Political Activists

In this survey of activists (N = 4,995) from several large religious interest groups, the demographic, religious, and ideological influences on attitudes toward abortion are analyzed. Findings indicate that detailed denominational, doctrinal, and religious practice items are powerful predictors of abortion attitudes among a demographically homogeneous sample of activists. The authors also discuss the implications of the findings for the future of abortion politics.

Does Religion Still Matter? Religion and Public Attitudes toward Integration in Europe

Recent years have seen a proliferation of studies on the determinants of support for the European Union among national publics. Scholars have analyzed economic, political, informational, and identity factors as influences, but there has been less exploration of cultural factors, most notably religion. This article replicates our earlier studies exploring the impact of confessional culture and religious commitment on support for the European Union, expanding the purview from early member states to more recent accessions and candidates for membership. Using Eurobarometer 65.2 (Papacostas 2006), we demonstrate that religion still shapes attitudes toward European integration, but in varying ways and to different extents in several parts of the Union. In early member states, Catholics — especially committed ones — are more supportive of the European Union than Protestants, confirming earlier findings. In more recent accessions, however, religions impact is weaker and assumes different configurations. Finally, we present evidence that even in the early member states religion is losing its influence over Europeanist sentiment and suggest that this development presents obstacles to further political integration.

An ideology of rights: Support for civil liberties among political activists

This paper examines support for civil liberties among a large and diverse set of political activists during the Reagan era: financial donors to party and political action committees (PACs). While these activists are more tolerant than the mass public, support for civil liberties is not evenly distributed among them. Liberals and Democrats are far more tolerant than their conservative and Republican counterparts. Tolerance is related to support for substantive rights and rooted in cosmopolitan demography, and it is not linked to greater political or social participation. Thus, among political activists, tolerance is associated with broader political alignments and not elite statusper se.

Changing Issue Agendas of Women Clergy

Using data from separate studies conducted in 1988-89 and 1998, we explore changes in the issue agendas of women clergy. Rosenstone and Hansen (1993) argue persuasively that mobilization often occurs due to a commitment to a particular political issue. Our data allow us to test three separate hypotheses about the evolution of women clergys issue agendas over the course of a decade that saw an unprecedented number of women enter the ministry. Shifts in the issue agendas of women clergy suggest a model of issue agenda evolution including four possible explanations for change: public agenda shifts, changes resulting from the growing number of women clergy, or ideological stability.

Religion and partisanship in Canada

Using a survey of three thousand Canadian adults conducted by the Angus Reid Group in the autumn of 1996, we examine the continuing role of religion in shaping partisan preferences. We find that traditional religious alignments still have some impact, but are being reshaped by both religious and political developments. We find that Evangelical Protestants are drawn toward the new Reform Party. Mainline Protestants still tend toward the Progressive Conservatives, and Catholics - both English- and French-speaking - remain the bulwark of the Liberal Party. The New Democratic Party, however, finds its greatest resonance among secular Canadians, and the Bloc Quebecois is strongest among nominal, rather than practicing, French-speaking Catholics. In multivariate analysis, these religious variables stand up well against other influences in explaining partisan preferences.