Research On Religion » evangelicals

Jeremy Castle on Religion and Voting Behavior

tonygill — Sun, 25 Jun 2017 08:00:49 +0000

How do American voters react when candidates prompt them with religious cues? Dr. Jeremiah (Jeremy) Castle, an assistant professor at Central Michigan University, discusses a recent study he conducted with his colleagues regarding how religious cues and prompts affect opinions towards various candidates. We start the discussion with Prof. Castle’s dissertation work on young evangelical Christians and whether they are becoming more liberal/progressive in their political views. It turns out, that Millennial evangelicals are not becoming more liberal when you examine those who are actively involved in their church. Younger Christians who are peripherally involved in their faith do show a leftward drift, though. Moving on to a recent article published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, we pick up the topic of whether or not voters are influenced by how a candidate is presented to them in media (e.g., voter pamphlets). Jeremy reviews the extant literature on why people vote the way they do, noting that partisan affiliation is — not surprisingly — the primary factor determining how one views, and votes for, a partisan candidate. The question moves back one step to explain what determines party affiliation and Prof. Castle notes that a number of factors condition this, including race, income, education, and religion. The interesting phenomenon that social scientists have observed over the past few decades, though, is a shift away from denominational affiliation (e.g., Presbyterian, Catholic) and party identity, to one that is based more upon religious intensity. Christians, irrespective of denomination, who are more active in their faith subculture tend to be conservative and Republican in their political identity, whereas less active and secular individuals lean Democrat and liberal. (There are some exceptions including Jews and black Protestants who still largely vote Democrat.) Jeremy then details the survey experiment he conducted with David Campbell, Geoffrey Layman, and John Green wherein they created a “generic” candidate and manipulated how that candidate was presented to individuals. Some test subjects received a moderate religious prompt, others a strong religious prompt, a third group received a secular prompt, and of course there was a control group that did not have any religious/secular identifying characteristics. Jeremy reveals that the strong religious prompt tended to improve the favorability of candidates amongst individuals who identified as strongly religious, and secular prompts tended to reduce the candidates favorability amongst this group. He shares a number of other interesting observations from this study as well. The topic of religious voting during the 2016 presidential election comes up at this point and Prof. Castle notes that some of the trends within Donald Trump’s rhetoric matches with the theoretical expectations of the hypotheses he was testing. We then shift gears to discuss some of Jeremy’s other work on whether or not political messages in movies have an impact on public opinion and he covers an experimental study he did on Notre Dame students exposed to three different films and their attitudes towards health care reform conducted several years ago. He finds that strong political messages in movies do shift attitudes immediately following the viewing of the film and several weeks later. Jeremy closes out with some observations on what he has learned in his young career as an academic. Recorded: June 12, 2017.

Prof. Castle’s personal website.

The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical, by Shane Claiborne (mentioned in podcast).

RELATED PODCASTS

Gerald De Maio on the Electoral Religion Gap.

Joe Fuiten on Clergy and Politics.

David Campbell & Quin Monson on Mormons and Politics in America.

Douglas Baker on Dominionism, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry.

Laura Olson on Attitudes towards Religious Free Exercise.

David Buckley on the Demand for Clergy in Politics.

Ken Wald on the Puzzling Politics of American Jews.

Luis Bolce on the Media and Anti-Fundamentalism.

Nathanael Snow on the Evangelical Coalition and Public Choice.

Kevin den Dulk on Religion, Education, and Civic Engagement.

Hunter Baker on the Past and Future of the Religious Right.

Who Would Jesus Vote For? A Redemption Church Small Group.

Kyle Roberts on Evangelical Gotham

tonygill — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 09:00:32 +0000

Gotham. The Big Apple. The City that Never Sleeps. New York City. We have many images of New York City, but how many of us as thinking of that worldly city having a vibrant evangelical community in the 19th century? Kyle Roberts, an assistant professor of history at Loyola University (Chicago), takes us on a journey back to Manhattan Island from on a journey dating to the end of the Revolutionary War and to the eve of the Civil War to show how evangelical Christianity was shaped by this growing urban metropolis and how evangelicals, in turn, shaped the city. The interview is peppered with vivid characters who illustrate the distinct phases of evangelicalism during this seven decade period. Prof. Roberts defines what he means by evangelical Christianity, a religious movement that emphasized conversion, literalism, atoning for the death of Christ, individualism, and social activism/revivalism. He further lays out the interesting tension between the individualistic impulse of evangelicalism and its episodic concern for social activism. We then start the historical journey in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War and up to the War of 1812, meeting a businessman-turned-preacher, Charles Lahatt who was tapped to give a sermon on his voyage across the Atlantic as the Anglican pastor was too drunk to do so. New York, a port city of roughly 20,000 people, was beginning a major population and many individuals from Britain journeyed by boat to this new land. That voyage shaped the evangelical Christianity of this period with a focus on “crossing” (a conversion experience) and “dwelling” (creating a new life). We discover that evangelicals create and embrace the image of a “common church,” often built into storefronts, a tendency that defines much of New York religiosity to this day (see the podcasts by Tony Carnes below). He also emphasizes the role that women played in the expansion of evangelical Christianity as they were often the champions of benevolence societies. The second major period of Kyle’s study moves us from the War of 1812 to the Panic of 1837. New York is experiencing more growth, both demographically and economically. This becomes the “golden age of evangelical benevolence” as evangelicals move deeper into social activism, seeking to change the sinning ways of new arrivals and sailors. It is also a time when religious publishing booms as many pastors and religious groups disseminate spiritual tracts as a proselytism strategy to increasingly literate citizens. This highlights the interesting comfort that evangelicals have with modernity in this period, being willing to adapt to and adopt the new technologies at the time, often pushing them to new economic heights. The Panic of 1837 and long recovery shook the economic landscape of the city and issues a new era of urban evangelical Christianity that sees the limits of reform and social activism. Evangelicals turn inward and emphasize personal sanctification, with leaders such as Phoebe Worral Palmer creating the Ladies’ Home Missionary Society. Prof. Roberts finishes off with some of his thoughts regarding what he learned over the course of his studies, including how evangelicalism, and particularly the urban environment, is more complex than he had thought initially, and how the urban environment intersects in multiple ways with spiritual faith. He also leaves us on an optimistic note for the future noting how Protestants and Catholics found ways to mend their differences over time, which he looks forward to happening with the increased religious pluralism our nation is experiencing. Recorded: December 30, 2016.

Evangelical Gotham: Religion and the Making of New York City 1783-1860, by Kyle Roberts.

Crossings and Dwellings: Restored Jesuits, Women Religious, American Experience 1814-2014, edited by Kyle Roberts and Stephen Schloesser.

Center for Textual Studies and Digital Humanities.

Jesuit Libraries Project.

Jesuit Libraries Provenance Project.

Tony Carnes on Jesus’s Auto Body (and Soul) Shop & Blessed Pizza.

William Reimer on Religion and Violence in Toronto.

Maureen Fitzgerald on Irish Nuns and Welfare.

John Fea on the American Bible Society.

Timothy Neary on Race, Sports, and Catholics.

Jonathan den Hartog on Patriotism and Piety.

Leigh Eric Schmidt on Village Atheists.

David Smith on Religion, International Relations, and Foreign Policy

tonygill — Sun, 25 May 2014 08:00:51 +0000

Does religion affect the way nations interact with one another? Does it affect foreign policy? And if so, why have scholars of international relations ignored the role of religion until recently? David Smith, a lecturer at the University of Sydney in the Department of Government and International Relations and a researcher in the United States Studies Program, provides us with an overview of how religion has played, and possibly still plays, a role in international relations and foreign policy.

We start out with an overview of the field of international relations (IR), a sub-discipline in political science (and one that stretches across other academic fields), and why scholars working in that area have, until recently, ignored religion. David takes us back to 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia to explain this general academic oversight. It is argue that since Western Europe essentially took the “religious question” off the table in the real of interstate conflict and diplomacy following the Thirty Year’s War, it was never considered to be a point of interest to scholars studying IR. Add to this the general tendency to favor materialist and realpolitik explanations in studying nation-states, and religion never seemed to be something interesting to study.

Things begin to change in the IR field with the 1979 Iranian Revolution. We note that although the Peace of Westphalia may have conditioned thinking about the role of religion (and ideas more generally) in diplomacy, the rest of the world really wasn’t party to this worldview. The general pattern of thinking in U.S. foreign policy prior to 1979 was that Islam would always be an ally to America in the battle against communism, thus the popular revolt that swept Islamists to power in Iran caught policymakers by surprise. Prof. Smith notes that the Iranian revolution has had the effect in the US State Department of creating a concern over popular uprisings with religious overtones. He illustrates this with the recent US reaction to the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt.

After acknowledging that religious ideas, movements, and organizations need to be taken seriously by IR scholars and diplomats, we then discuss how religion might play a role in international affairs. This is where we pick up the work of Stephen Rock, Eric Patterson, and Andrew Preston, which was the focus of David’s recent review article in The Australian Journal of Political Science. Our first possible method whereby religion impacts diplomacy relates to lobbying. Groups like the American-Israeli Political Action Committee or the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops often try to influence American foreign policy, but David explains how these groups are largely ineffective. We then look at how public opinion, typically expressed institutionally by voting patterns, may influence diplomatic leaders. Again, the relative impact of religious beliefs and preferences get filtered out from the diplomatic corps, although there are times when Congress can use religious issues to press for certain foreign policies.

The third possible mode religion may influence international relations is via the personal beliefs of leaders and diplomats. David, though, notes that there is not much evidence between a president’s religious beliefs and the general patterns of foreign policy. Richard Nixon (Quaker) and Jimmy Carter (evangelical) are used as example of how leaders are constrained in their ability to affect foreign policy. The final pathway relates the general ideological (theological) milieu of the United States and how it acts as “background radiation” on the thinking of political leaders. Examples of this include John Winthrop’s “city on a hill” concept, Jeffersonian isolationism, Wilson’s liberal internationalism, and Reagan’s aggressive nationalism. We discuss the empirical difficulty of explaining how these three different ideas are influenced by America’s religious ideas.

David provides a number of examples of how religion has played a real role in conditioning US diplomacy. We discuss the issue of human rights and Jewish dissidents in the Soviet Union, the creation of the International Religious Freedom Act, Boko Haram, and finish up with how U.S. evangelicals approach climate policy, both domestically and abroad. David also reflects upon the role that religion plays in the diplomatic relations of other countries, most notably Europe and Australia. Recorded: May 8, 2014.

The Politics of Secularism in International Relations, by Elizabeth Shakman Hurd.

Revolutions in Sovereignty: How Ideas Shaped Modern International Relations, by Daniel Philpott.

Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror, by Mahmood Mamdani.

Faith and Foreign Policy: The Views and Influence of U.S. Christians and Christian Organizations, by Stephen Rock.

Politics in a Religious World: Building a Religiously Informed U.S. Foreign Policy, by Eric Patterson.

Sword of the Spirit, Shield of the Faith: Religion in American War and Diplomacy, by Andrew Preston.

RELATED PODCASTS

Thomas Farr on Religion, Religious Liberty, and US Diplomacy.

William Inboden on Religious Liberty, Foreign Policy, and the Arab Spring.

Roger Finke on Religious Persecution.

Daniel Philpott on Religious Resurgence and Democratization.

Jonathan Fox on Religion and State around the World.

Robert Delahunty on Alexis de Tocqueville and Religion

tonygill — Sun, 25 Aug 2013 08:00:51 +0000

Back in the 1830s, a young Frenchman by the name of Alexis de Tocqueville travelled to the United States to write a report about its prison system. Although he did write such a report, the trip became more notable when Tocqueville put pen to paper and generated a two-volume set of observations about American political and social life known as Democracy in America. While the book contains many profound observations, we invite Prof. Robert Delahunty (University of St. Thomas) to discuss Tocqueville’s thoughts on the importance of religion in a democratic society based on a series of posts he recently wrote on the Center for Law & Religion Forum hosted by St. John’s University Law School (see below).

Our discussion begins with an examination of the historical setting for Democracy in America, namely the Jacksonian era of U.S. history. Prof. Delahunty reviews the many social, economic, political, and religious changes taking place in this fledgling nation. He then reviews the personal background of Alexis de Tocqueville, who was only in his mid-20s when he journeyed to America. His early life as a Catholic is covered as well as his “deconversion” at about age 16. Interestingly, though harboring doubts about his Catholic faith, Alexis continued to participate in the Catholic Church throughout most of his adult life. Robert notes how these personal experiences come to shape Tocqueville’s views of American relgion, most notably the more mainstream form of Protestantism typical of the northern US at the time, and also how he understands the growing Catholic presence in America during the 1830s. Robert makes an interesting historical observation that Tocqueville seems to have overlooked the dynamic ferment that was the Second Great Awakening in America. We also cover Tocqueville’s political outlook, noting how his parents had been persecuted during the French Revolution and how Alexis was also influenced by various French Enlightenment thinkers.

We then plunge fully into Tocqueville’s thinking on church-state relations and the role of religion in society more generally. Robert connects Tocqueville to a long tradition of Western political thought about religion dating back to Niccolo Machiavelli. This dialogue with previous philosophers, and Machiavelli in particular, helps to anchor our conversation. Robert notes that religion has been seen as being connected to governance in three ways. First, religion has historically been used to sacralize or legitimize secular authority and the state. Second, religion serves to moralize the population in ways that are beneficial to a smooth-functioning society. Finally, he notes that religious groups and leaders have served a “prophetic role” of challenging abuses of state authority. It is the latter two functions, Delahunty argues, that Tocqueville comes to increasingly see as the important aspect of religion in a democratic republic. Tocqueville is concerned that American Protestantism may not be sufficiently prophetic enough in the era in which he observed the nation. Nonetheless, we explore how important religion is, and could be, in limiting what Prof. Delahunty calls the “political immagination.” Religion, as a force in civil society, helps to restrict the options before democratic political leaders preventing it from devolving to mob rule. We close with Prof. Delahunty’s thoughts about how Tocqueville’s philosophy could be useful for understanding church-state relations and the role of religion in America over the past half century. Recorded: August 23, 2013.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. Robert Delahunty’s bio at St. Thomas University.

Prof. Delahunty’s short blog articles on religion and Tocqueville at the Center for Law & Religion Forum.

“Russell Moore: From Moral Majority to ‘Prophetic Minority’,” by Naomi Schaeffer Riley in Wall Street Journal (mentioned in podcast; subscription required for access).

RELATED PODCASTS

Kevin den Dulk on Religion, Education, and Civil Engagement.

Jonathan den Hartog on the Spiritual and Political Life of John Jay.

Theodore Malloch on Spiritual Capital and Virtuous Business.

Jason Jewell on Why Christians Should Read the Great Books.

Joe Fuiten on Clergy and Politics.

Who Would Jesus Vote For? A Redemption Church Small Group

tonygill — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 08:00:39 +0000

Visit our Facebook Fan Page to see how this group of evangelicals are planning to vote in the 2012 presidential election.

Scholars have long known that religious belief and practice plays a salient role in determining one’s voting behavior. Those scholars have relied upon opinion polls and statistical analysis to flesh this out, though rarely do we get a glimpse into the actual thought process of how religious folks think about their politics. In this very unusual podcast, we open that “black box” to listen in on how a group of sixteen evangelical churchgoers and their pastor talk about politics with a presidential election coming up. These folks belong to Redemption Church in Duvall, WA (a church featured several times on this show), and they are participating in one fo the church’s “small groups” (or “regroup”) known as Theology on Tap, wherein interested church members gather in a local bar, drink beer, and discuss some heady theological issues. The topic for this evening’s discussion was “Who would Jesus vote for?” The conversation defies a typical linear narrative (as do many small group discussions), so we won’t provide one here. However, become a “fly on the wall” to this exchange of ideas and be prepared to hear some interesting and suprising statements from the congregants. The participants hit on topics ranging from whether an evangelical can conscientiously vote for a Mormon, to figuring out what constitutes “moral” issues as compared to “policy” issues, to why white evangelicals vote differently than African-American evangelicals. One of the members even makes the bold claim that Jesus would vote Republican, though he himself would vote Democrat. Hear the surprising justification for this that harkens back to the economist Simon Kuznets! Near the end of the discussion (at about the 57 minute mark), Pastor Matt Boswell claims that Jesus wouldn’t vote for anybody, but for use regular folks that is a cop-out for not voting, to which an audience member agreed. Listen in to how this evangelical dilemma is resolved, with the most profound answer of the evening coming by one of the participants at the 1 hour and 7 minute mark. If anything, this will disavow you of your notion that all rural evangelicals are just a bunch of dumb hillbillies. Or maybe not. The discussion is passionate, but at the end they all raise a glass and proclaim their true love for Jesus, their church, and one another. Go to our Facebook Fan Page and “like” us to find out the poll results of how these backwoods evangelicals are planning to cast their vote and possibly for a little discussion of what happened at the “after party.” Special thanks to the Duvall Grill and Tap Room for hosting this event and allowing us to record. Recorded: October 16, 2012.

Duvall Grill & Tap Room.

RELATED PODCASTS

Gerald de Maio on the Electoral Religion Gap.

Corwin Smidt on Religion, Elections, and the God Gap.

Ken Wald on the Puzzling Politics of American Jews.

The Redemption Church podcast series. (Learn about this fascinating church, the spiritual home of your host.)

Jeremy Lott on America’s Shifting Religious Election Coalition

tonygill — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:00:19 +0000

What hath Election 2012 wrought? Are we witnessing a re-alignment of religious voters with Catholics shifting away from the Democrats and evangelicals becoming comfortable with a Mormon running for national office? Jeremy Lott, author and editor of RealClearReligion (among other sites), joins us to talk about his new, free e-book entitled Mitt Romney’s Mormon-Christian Coalition. We start off first, though, by examining if there have been any trends in how the media have dealt with the religious angle in the current election. Jeremy’s role with RealClearReligion gives him an advantage in answering this question and he provides some interesting insights on how places like The New York Times have covered religion. We then spend a short bit of time to look at how atheists have tried to get in the mix of electoral politics by putting up images of Jesus on toast and a man in glowing underwear before the Democratic and Republican national conventions. Our discussion then turns to how Democrats have dealt with religion in recent years and how President Obama’s seeming lack of faith (as viewed in opinion polls) and how the debate over contraception and abortion in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (i.e., Obamacare) has affected religious voters, particularly Catholics. Indeed, the politics behind getting Obamacare passed and how regulations were later imposed despite initial understandings of what that legislation would do may have shattered a fragile coalition that Democrats have maintained with Catholics since Roe v Wade and the Hyde Amendment prohibiting funding for abortion at the federal level. Tony wonders how much lay Catholic voters will respond to criticisms of the Obama Administration levelled by various Catholic Church leaders. We then look at how Mitt Romney may be using this growing rift to his advantage, in part by choosing Paul Ryan, a practicing Catholic, as his running mate. We also look at how Romney has tried to assuage the fears of evangelical leaders who have had a suspicion of Mormon religious views, and how Romney infused the Republican National Convention with how Mormon values are American values without making overt appeals to Mormonism. Jeremy also notes how Mitt’s missionary background has been influential in crafting his political career, including a life-threatening car crash. The claim is made that his ability to speak to different audiences as a missionary has affected how he positions himself on various political issues, sometimes giving him the image of being a flip-flopper. But Jeremy notes that this is also an indication of how Romney learns over time and that there is no “Romney-ism” but rather a pragmatic turn-around artist who is also a skillful politician. During an earlier point in the podcast, Jeremy claims that he will “eat his hat” if the Republicans take Pennsylvania in the presidential election, a claim that Tony intends to revisit in several weeks. Recorded: October 15, 2012.

RELATED LINKS

Real Clear Religion. (You can access Real Clear Politics, Real Clear Books, Real Clear Science and other portals at this website as well.)

Jeremy Lott’s Diary on Patheos.com (pithy and profound insights galore).

Mitt Romney’s Mormon-Christian Coalition by Jeremy Lott courtesy of Human Events (asks for your email to download).

In Defense of Hypocrisy: Picking Sides in the War on Virtue, by Jeremy A. Lott.

The Warm Bucket Brigade: The Story of the American Vice Presidency, by Jeremy A. Lott.

William F. Buckley (Christian Encouter Series), by Jeremy A. Lott.

I’ll Never Forget It: Memoirs of a Political Accident from East Baltimore, by Marvin Mandel, Jeremy Lott, and Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.

RELATED PODCASTS

Jeremy Lott on Episcopalians, Ex-Athiests, Health Care, and German Circumcision.

Jeremy Lott on Real Clear Religion.

Philip Muñoz on Catholic Bishops, Religious Liberty, and Health Care Mandates.

Gerald de Maio on the Electoral Religion Gap.

Corwin Smidt on Religion, Elections, and the God Gap.

Gerald De Maio on the Electoral Religion Gap

tonygill — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 08:00:42 +0000

Visit our Facebook Fan Page to view the editorial cartoon from the 19th century that is mentioned in this interview.

With the election season heating up, we revisit the issue of whether religion plays a role in voting behavior in the United States. Prof. Gerald De Maio, associate professor of political science at Baruch College (City University of New York), discusses his collaborative research with Louis Bolce, a former guest on our podcast (see below). Their research examines the “religion gap” in American politics and how the media and scholary community have overlooked this rather salient feature in electoral politics. We begin by discussing what the “religion (or God) gap” is and Jerry provides some basic statistics from the 2008 presidential election that reveal this gap between regular churchgoers and more secular individuals represents a difference of upwards of 30 – 35%, far eclipsing the more discussed “gender gap” and “age gap.” Only racial differences — largely between African-Americans and Caucasians — are larger. We also discuss how this “religion gap” was once defined denominationally but now is largely an effect of how often one attends religious services and/or maintains orthodox religious beliefs. In other words, whereas there was a Catholic/Protestant divide in electoral politics historically, it is now more common to see regular churchgoing Catholics vote similarly to regular Protestant church attenders. Prof. De Maio provides some theoretical speculation as to why this gap has arisen, noting that it is not just social issues (e.g., abortion, same-sex marriage) that are creating this gulf, but includes economic issues as well. Jerry notes how the cultural change that occured in the 1960s and 1970s affected religious electoral alignments which became visible in the data by the 1980s. It also played a role in redefining the political parties during this era. We then discuss how the “religious gap” plays out in non-white communities, most notably the African-American and Latino communities. While religious African-Americans share many of the same opinions on social issues as conservative white churchgoers, they tend to vote Democrat. Jerry gives his take on this issue and does not see the Republicans making many inroads into the religious African-American and (to a lesser extent) Latino voting bloc in the near future. Following this discussion, we turn to how the media has been reporting the “religion gap” in American politics, with Jerry pointing out that what little discussion there has been about this trend has focussed on the Religious Right as compared to the secular Left, and how the Democratic Party has tried to fix their “religion problem.” A spike in coverage of the “religious gap” in 2004 sent Democrats on the search for more moderate candidates who were more amenable to religious voters, culminating in victories in 2006 and 2008, and making them think they have We close out with some discussions about what this may mean for the upcoming 2012 electoral races. Recorded: July 17, 2012.

RELATED LINKS

Gerald De Maio’s biography at Baruch College, CUNY.

Seigal Report on the New York Times, “Preserving Our Readers’ Trust.”

Compromising Scholarship: Religious and Political Bias in American Higher Education, by George Yancey (mentioned in podcast).

RELATED PODCASTS

Louis Bolce on The Media and Anti-Fundamentalism.

Corwin Smidt on Religion, Elections, and the God Gap.

Brad R.W. Wright on Christian Stereotypes.

Jon Shields on Democratic Virtues and the Christian Right.

David Brody on the 2010 Elections and Religious Journalism.

Jeremy Lott on Real Clear Religion

tonygill — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:00:53 +0000

Thanks for visiting our podcast. You can listen with the links to the right, subscribe on iTunes, our RSS feed, and like our Facebook page for updates and a countdown of the host’s most favorite interviews.

How do people get their news about religion? Are there any stereotypes or trends surrounding the reporting of religious news? And which city is better — Fairfax, VA or Lynden, WA? To answer these timeless questions, we invited Jeremy Lott, editor of Real Clear Religion (and a number of other “Real Clear” websites) to discuss the role internet technology has played on how we obtain our information about religion. We begin our conversation by talking about what Real Clear Religion (RCR) does. In short, Real Clear Religion serves as a news portal for news on religion, gathering articles and op-ed pieces from around the interwebs to put it in one handy, easy-to-get-to source. The portal, part of the “Real Clear” network of sites, also contains a blog and original writing by the individuals who manage the site. Through the process of this discussion, Tony learns a new term — intelligent aggregation. Jeremy details the history of the Real Clear network, his background, and how he became involved with RCR. The “nuts and bolts” of the site are then revealed with Jeremy discussing where he plucks the news stories from, how he determines what will be featured, and what the general goal of the website is. Following this, we discuss stereotypes about religion in the media. Our conversation takes an ineresting diversion to the topic of Wikipedia and how that website has changed the way we obtain and digest information. Tony not only lays bare his thoughts on Wikipedia and why academics might not like it, but also reveals that a former student of his created a Wikipedia page for him! After noting that RCR does not want to exclusively talk about religion and politics, but rather see religion as an aspect of human life that is important in-and-of-itself, Tony prompts Jeremy to talk about religion and politics. We do this by examining various media trends, particularly with respect to the upcoming presidential election. We wonder if recent news stories about evangelicals (and the millenial evangelicals) are becoming less involved with politics and whether or not they would vote for a Mormon presidential candidate. Finish off discussing Jeremy’s recent book on hypocrisy and his plans to write about C.S. Lewis and death. Recorded: April 17, 2012.

RELATED LINKS

Real Clear Religion. (You can access Real Clear Politics, Real Clear Books, Real Clear Science and other portals at this website as well.)

Jeremy Lott’s bio on Wikipedia.com (whether accurate or not). Tony’s Wikipedia bio, referenced in the podcast, can be found here (again, accurate or not).

In Defense of Hypocrisy: Picking Sides in the War on Virtue, by Jeremy A. Lott.

The Warm Bucket Brigade: The Story of the American Vice Presidency, by Jeremy A. Lott.

William F. Buckley (Christian Encouter Series), by Jeremy A. Lott.

I’ll Never Forget It: Memoirs of a Political Accident from East Baltimore, by Marvin Mandel, Jeremy Lott, and Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.

Get Religion, a website that tracks media reporting of religion (mentioned in the podcast).

RELATED PODCASTS

Luis Bolce on the Media and Anti-Fundamentalism.

Douglas Baker on Dominionism, Michele Bachman, and Rick Perry.

Patrick Mason on Anti-Mormonism and Mitt Romney.

Bradley Wright on Christian Stereotypes.

Fletcher Harper on GreenFaith

tonygill — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 08:00:40 +0000

With Earth Day coming up soon, Research on Religion steps outside to examine how religion can have an impact on the natural environment. We invite Rev. Fletcher Harper, an Episcopal priest and executive director of GreenFaith, to discuss what spiritual faith has to do with environmental stewardship. GreenFaith is one of the oldest religiously-based environmental organizations in the country, starting out as an all-volunteer group known as Partners for Environmental Quality in the early 1990s. Rev. Harper begins by revealing how his interest in both religion and the environment developed over his life’s history, and then how he became connected with GreenFaith, first as a volunteer and then as its director. We cover the history of this organization and how it has interacted with other religious communities, as well as the secular environmental movement. Fletcher notes that it was not all smooth sailing and details some of the skepticism this religious environmental movement faced from different sectors of society. He also shares with us the ecumenical nature of the organization and reveals which denominations and faith traditions tend to be more receptive to connecting with his organization’s mission. It is not surprising that the Islamic and Hindu communities have been slower at connecting with GreenFaith given that theses minority faiths have more immediate ethnic and cultural issues that they are addressing in American society. He also mentions that Catholic clergy have been somewhat reluctant to get involved in the environmental movement given the association that some green groups have with population control. Tony then asks what type of projects GreenFaith is involved in, what a typical day in the life of Rev. Harper is like, and where his organization gets its funding. As for the latter, most of the financing comes from private contributions along with a few fee-based ventures such as training programs or helping other organizations locate opportunities to improve energy efficiency. GreenFaith does work in partnership with local and regional governments on occassion, and gets some funding from grants, but their efforts are mainly privately-based. This brings up the issue of whether Christians abdicate their responsibility for social action by often panning off work onto the government, which leads to an interesting philosophical discussion. We finish off by examining GreenFaith’s view of “market-based environmentalism,” which seeks to alter economic incentives in ways that individuals find it beneficial to conserve the environment on their own, with less government regulation. Fletcher talks about what he learned from the Property & Environment Research Center (PERC) in Bozeman (MT), where he participated in a week long seminar on this approach to environmental issues. Recorded: March 22, 2012.

Property & Environmental Research Center (PERC).

“Where Free Markets Meet Faith,” by Paul Schwennesen.

Richard Flory on Why We Go to Church (and other stuff)

tonygill — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:00:36 +0000

A recent Barna Group survey found that roughly 60% of regular churchgoers could not remember any new religious insight from the last time they attended churc, and 50% could not remember any insight from the previous week’s service. So why bother gettin’ out of bed, gettin’ on your Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes and trudging down to the local congregation? We take up this issue with Dr. Richard Flory, associate research professor of sociology at the University of Southern California and director of research at the USC Center for Religion & Civic Culture. Based upon a blog post he wrote on this topic, Richard speculates that it might not be the spiritual message that lures us to church service, but rather the communal aspect of worshiping together that draws us together every Sunday. We discuss some of the demographic possibilities for these research findings as well, contemplating whether age, gender or the clergy’s lack of dynamism may have something to do with why people report tuning out during the sermon. The second half of our discussion then looks at the role that churches play in the community and we talk about Richard’s research on church activism in Los Angeles following the 1992 riots, a topic near to the heart of your host since he was living in L.A. at the time. Prof. Flory details the various means that churches have tried to heal the city vis-a-vis charity, advocacy for social justice, community development, and interfaith dialogue. He provides several examples including work done by Rev. Mark Whitlock, Cecil Murray of the First AME, La Voice PICO, and other groups. He concludes by noting how churches must first be interested in developing the spiritual life of its congregants but then develop those interests in such a way that they entail community outreach. Recorded: February 17, 2012.

“Why Even Go to Church?” Richard Flory’s blog post on the Barna Group survey.

“Prof. Flory Goes to Chapel,” his follow up blog posting to the piece mentioned above.

Growing up in America: The Power of Race in the Life of Teens, by Richard Flory, Korie Edwards, and Brad Christerson.

Finding Faith: The Spiritual Quest of the Post-Boomer Generation, by Richard Flory and Donald Miller.

GenX Religion, edited by Richard Flory and Donald Miller.

Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement, mentioned in the podcast.

LA Voice PICO, a religiously-based community organization mentioned in the interview.

RELATED PODCASTS

Jay Hein on the Faith-Based Iniative.

Margarita Mooney on Religion & Haitian Immigrants.

Byron Johnson on Religion & Delinquency.

Byron Johnson on More God, Less Crime.

Scott Thompson on Youth Ministry.