Research On Religion » Mitt Romney

Quin Monson on Norms, Religion, and Politics

tonygill — Sun, 31 Dec 2017 09:00:11 +0000

How do people view other religions? Are there norms of tolerance (or intolerance) that Americans hold in common? If there are differences in these norms, do they cut across political affiliation? These are some of the questions that Prof. Quin Monson, associate professor of political science at Brigham Young University, sets out to answer in a paper that he co-authored with his BYU colleagues Christopher Karpowitz and Kelly Patterson. We discuss their recent findings published in the journal Politics & Religion entitled “Who’s In and Who’s Out: The Politics of Religious Norms.” Before that, though, we include a bit of banter about what it is like being a political science professor and having to answer questions about why we can’t seem to predict the outcome of recent elections. Prof. Monson shares some insights here and notes that scholars are trying to rectify some recent errors and are rediscovering some important research from the past.

We then jump into the world of norms and norm enforcement. Quin defines what norms are — the collective consciousness of a community — and provides a few examples of norms and how they operate. We talk about the norm of standing in line and “first come, first served” and how violations of this commonly known rule are enforced. Prof. Monson notes that the more that is at stake with respect to a norm, the more individuals will seek to sanction a norm violator. He also mentions Tony’s recent work on tipping (gratuities), allowing him to post a link to that conversation below! Quin further illustrates the role of norms in politics through an earlier study he conducted on how voters perceive privacy at the ballot box. A field experiment conducted at polling sites, wherein tape was placed around voting booths to signify a private space had an effect on how poll workers interacted with citizens. We then review the difficulty in measuring norms within a quantitative framework.

This conversation on measuring norms leads us into Quin’s recent survey experiment on the religious attitudes people hold and whether they are willing to sanction people with respect to “inappropriate” statements against certain denominations. We briefly cover the history of religious discrimination in American that includes anti-Catholicism, anti-Mormonism, and anti-Semitism. Prof. Monson leads us then through an interesting survey experiment he conducted with the help of the Cooperative Congressional Election Study, a research project involving some 50,000 subjects that can be broken down into 1,000 person modules for specific projects. Quin reviews the pre- and post-test design of the study and explains how he and his colleagues sought to measure religious intolerance and the willingness to chastise other individuals for holding such views. He reads a vignette that was given randomly to respondents which was based off of some comments that comedian and social commentator Bill Maher had made towards religion. They modified this statement to include the religious categories of Catholics, Mormons, Jews, evangelical Christians, Muslims, and Mitt Romney. The latter was added as an interesting control given the 2012 test surrounded the presidential election involving Mitt Romney, the first Mormon presidential candidate. The findings from this study indicated that the level of anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism was relatively low, and that individual respondents were often upset at people holding such views. The largest effect, though, related towards whether or not individuals would sanction comments calling Muslims “weird.” Democrats were more likely to disapprove or sanction negative statements against Muslims, whereas Republicans were not. Quin mentioned that this may be have been a precursor of what happened in the political rhetoric of the 2016 election. We finish off the podcast with Quin’s thoughts on how norms may be changing in society and what things he has most learned throughout his career. Recorded: December 15, 2017.

“Who’s In and Who’s Out: The Politics of Religious Norms,” by Christopher Karpowitz, Quin Monson, and Kelly Patterson (requires subscription).

Seeking the Promised Land: Mormons and American Politics, by David Campbell, John Green, and Quin Monson.

Cooperative Congressional Election Study.

Anthony Gill on Tipping (EconTalk podcast mentioned during discussion).

RELATED PODCASTS

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

Patrick Mason on Anti-Mormonism and Mitt Romney.

David Smith on Episodic Religious Persecutions.

Lynita Newswander on Mormons in America.

Jeremy Castle on Religion and Voting Behavior.

Luis Bolce and the Media and Anti-Fundamentalism.

Bradley Wright on Religion, Race, and Discrimination.

Laura Olson on Attitudes toward Religious Free Exercise.

Jason Jewell on John Locke and Religious Toleration.

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

Gerald De Maio on the Electoral God Gap.

David Campbell & Quin Monson on Mormons & Politics in America

tonygill — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 09:00:58 +0000

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Are Mormons a “peculiar people,” particularly as it pertains to politics? Two LDS political scientists — David E Campbell of Notre Dame and J Quin Monson of Brigham Young University — join us in our first-ever dual guest appearance to discuss this topic. We examine a variety of research findings recently published in their book Seeking the Promised Land: Mormons and American Politics, also written with John C Green (who is not a Mormon).

After a bit of personal revelations by our two guests, we jump first into a bit of sociology of religion and explore the unique distinctiveness of the Latter Day Saints. Prof. Monson elaborates on what the authors call the “paradox of Mormonism,” wherein the LDS are a quintessentially American faith, but also “outside” of American culture. We examine whether Mormons can be called a distinct religio-ethnic group, perhaps akin to Jews. Both Dave and Quin share some personal experiences growing up and being educated outside of the Mormon heartland of Utah, and they school Tony in what it means to “speak Mormon.” In respect to this “paradox of Mormonism,” Tony wonders why the LDS remain one of the most devoutly patriotic subgroups in America despite having faced enormous persecution throughout their history.

We then turn to the political identify of Mormons and Tony points out that few, if any, presidential candidates ever make a whistle stop in Utah. Prof. Campbell explains that Mormons are remarkably cohesive in their Republican affiliation (much like African-American Protestants and Jews when it comes to the Democrat Party), but it wasn’t always this way. Dave covers the Mormon partisan re-alignment that has occurred over the past half century or so and in the process we review one of our favorite topics — the God gap, an increasing cross-denominational tendency for those who are deeply religious to prefer the GOP, while secular society has trended Democrat. (See our list of additional podcasts on this topic below.) We also cover a series of specific issues to note that Mormons are not necessarily monolithic in their views and often have political preferences that are a bit at odds with the Republican base, particularly when it comes to immigration. We discuss the reasons for this more pro-immigrant stance and how it might relate to the missionary goals of the LDS. Tony also brings up the issue of school choice vouchers, a GOP-favored policy, and how it went down to a resounding defeat in Utah several years back. Both Quin and Dave offer their explanations.

We follow the discussion on political preferences with an examination of whether or not religious leaders influence the voting behavior of the LDS laity. We talk a bit about the organizational structure of the church. Quin points out that there is virtually no politicking that goes on from the pulpit, but there are numerous conversations in the hallways of the ward (i.e., the LDS version of a parish or congregation). Tony brings up the recent case of Mormon involvement supporting Proposition 8, a California initiative that was designed to reverse a state supreme court ruling and define marriage as strictly between a man and a woman. The LDS Church and many of its individual members took a great deal of heat for their support of Proposition 8, and this leads us to a discussion of the efficacy of religious groups becoming closely involved in political causes.

We finish with some reflections on whether or not Mormons have broken the political “glass ceiling” with the recent presidential candidacy of Mitt Romney in 2008 and 2012. Dave brings up some thoughts about how this campaign both affected the perception of Mormons in politics — with Republicans becoming more friendly to the denomination while Democrats became a bit more negative on it — and how Mitt affected Mormonism itself. We close with the two authors giving their personal reflections on what they learned throughout the process of writing their book. Recorded: October 31, 2014.

RELATED LINKS

Seeking the Promised Land: Mormons and American Politics, by David E Campbell, John C Green, and J Quin Monson.

David E Campbell’s bio at University of Notre Dame’s political science department.

J Quin Monson’s bio at Brigham Young University’s political science department.

American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, by Robert Putnam and David E Campbell.

RELATED PODCASTS

Lynita Newswander on Mormons in America

Allison Pond on Being a Mormon Missionary

Patrick Mason on Anti-Mormonism and Mitt Romney

Michael McBride on Religious Free-Riding and the Mormon Church

David Smith on Episodic Religious Persecutions

Jeremy Lott on Mormons, Pope Francis, and Ugly Churches

Ken Wald on the Puzzling Politics of American Jews

Corwin Smidt on Religion, Elections and the God Gap

Gerald De Maio on the Electoral Religion Gap

Jeremy Lott on Mormons, Pope Francis, and Ugly Churches

tonygill — Sun, 04 Aug 2013 08:00:28 +0000

What happens when a Catholic journalist walks into a Mormon church service just a few weeks before a presidential election involving a highly-visible Latter Day Saints’ candidate? Jeremy Lott, author and editor of RealClearReligion.org (among other sites), joins us in-person at the Match Coffee & Wine Bar in Duvall, WA to recount his interesting investigatory trip to a Mormon ward back in September of 2012. Being a “stranger in a Mormon land” (the title of an article he penned for The American Specator), he is able to observe things that the typical insider might otherwise miss.

Despite appearing unannounced, and carrying a reporter’s notebook, Jeremy was greeted warmly by the local worshippers. The first thing he noted, though, was the lack of religious imagery in the main worship area although the hallways were decorated with murals of Jesus. He categorizes the people he meets as “earnest amateurs” — i.e., people who are not specifically trained in seminaries but who serve in unpaid and part-time leadership positions, and who have a deeper knowledge of their own faith than the typical Protestant or Catholic in the pews. We cover the nature of the sermon, which that week focussed on spending more time with family and less time with Facebook, and also included a presentation of how to react to media presentations of Mormonism. This latter topic was understandable given the intense scrutiny their faith was receiving due to Mitt Romney’s presence in the presidential campaign. Jeremy also noted that the service was less liturgical than other Christian services, yet they had a typical amount of singing.

Following the first service, which lasted about an hour, Jeremy then continues his investigative journey by attending one of several Sunday School classes held at the congregation. He chose what best could be called the “Mormonism for Beginners” class that was populated by fifteen other participants. Jeremy makes an interesting observation based upon his experience in this class; Mormonism is a fascinating mix of the Catholic critique of Protestantism and the Protestant critique of Catholicism. He also discusses the encounter he had with the instructor after class relating to the Nicene Creed. When prompted to reflect upon this whole journalistic foray into a different religion, Jeremy’s big take-away from this excursion was rather interesting; he noted that he better understood what it was like to be a Jew in a Christian environment. You will have to listen for his reason for this observation about halfway through the interview.

At the halfway mark, we turn to another story that has been making headlines in the news and that Jeremy has been following closely — the new papacy of Francis I. Jeremy starts out by defending Tony’s use of Francis the First. Whereas your adorable host took a beat down on Facebook for using the Roman numeral after Francis’s name — with people claiming the first pope to use a new name never uses the numerical moniker — Jeremy notes that this all changed with John Paul I. So, some of you are historically correct, but things be a changin’ at the Vatican. And this is where we pick up our discussion with Jeremy providing an overview of the new pontiff’s first six months. He comments on his leadership style, his public image, and how he has dealt with a few recent scandals that have come to light. This includes an interesting observation relating to cats in the papal apartments and the washing of women’s feet. We also hear Jeremy’s reflections from his Catholic community on how the new pope is perceived.

The final portion of our interview covers a few other things happening in the religious world, including an increasing focus on mental health issues in the Southern Baptist community and the rise of religious “nones.” But what Tony really wants to know is what the world’s ugliest church is. RealClearReligion.org recently featured two articles on religious structures that … well … just might prove to be a bit brutally ugly (see links below). Despite the audio format of our podcast, we bring you vivid descriptions of these holy horrors and provide you with the opportunity to view them yourself at RealClearReligion and RoR’s Facebook Fan Page. Listeners are encouraged to post your favorites (or “least favorites”) when it comes to spiritual architectural disasters. Recorded: July 26, 2013.

RELATED LINKS

RealClearReligion — a great place for all your religious news! (You can also link to RealClearScience and RealClearBooks here too.)

“Stranger in a Mormon Land,” by Jeremy Lott in The American Spectator.

Ugly Churches and Even More Ugly Churches on RealClearReligion.org. Submit your pictures on RoR’s Facebook Fan Page.

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

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.

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

Match Coffee & Wine Bar in Duvall, WA.

RELATED PODCASTS

Jeremy Lott on the Media’s Pope-O-Rama.

Jeremy Lott on Real Clear Religion.

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

Jeremy Lott on America’s Shifting Religious Election Coalition.

Michael McBride on the Economics of Religious Leadership.

Michael McBride on Religious Free-Riding and the Mormon Church.

James Felak on Picking Pontiffs and Pope Francis I.

Thom S. Rainer on Bapist Conventions and Church Health.

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.

Lynita Newswander on Mormons in America

tonygill — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 08:00:18 +0000

Greetings to the new visitors to our website. We hope you enjoy this interview and invite you to visit our archives for over 100 other great episodes on a wide variety of topics, all free to the public. And please sign up for our Facebook fan page to get regular updates on future topics and guests. Help us get to 300 fans by September 1.

With Mitt Romney running for president of the United States, there has been a heightened interest to learn about the Mormon faith. We tackle this subject once again on our show by examining the historical legacy and contemporary impact that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has had on US culture and politics. Prof. Lynita Newswander, and adjunct professor of political science at the University of South Dakota, joins us to discuss her recent book, LDS in the USA, co-authored with Lee Trepanier. The book itself is interesting given that it represents a collaboration between a scholar who is Mormon (Newswander) and one who is not (Trepanier). We discuss the reasons for this interesting collaboration as well as for why the book ended up with the title that it did. Tony proposes the book should have its own theme song based upon the popular Bruce Springsteen song “Born in the USA” and actually sings a few lines from what he thinks that song should sound like — a very special treat for our regular listeners. We then dive into a brief history of Mormonism with Lynita pointing out that Mormons, due to persecution, became emigrants from their own country only to have that country catch up with them in the midst of Westward expansion, making them immigrants in a nation which they still retained citizenship in. This creates a certain tenor to LDS history, wherein members have seen themselves as both outsiders and insiders in American history making them what Brigham Young called “a peculiar people.” Our discussion covers how Mormons have conformed to and shaped “core American values” including the notions of diversity, tolerance, and family. Prof. Newswander shares her unique perspective on Mormon identity growing up outside of Utah and as a member of a religious minority group in Texas and why she found her recent trip to Salt Lake City to be rather interesting. She notes that there is a strong tendency within the LDS Church for members to want to group together, which in effect continues to make the religion rather distinct, a feeling that she experienced when she went to school at BYU. We continue with the interview noting how Mormon influences have made their way into American culture, from Donny and Marie Osmond in the 1970s to the best-selling author Stephenie Meyer (the “Twighlight” series) and to their appearance on reality TV shows more recently. The conversation then turns to the controversial topic of Jell-O consumption and whether Utah or Iowa holds the title for highest per capita consumption of that convenient snack food. We also discuss how the non-Mormon media has recently portrayed the LDS faith through such shows as Big Love and Sister Wives. This brings up the issue of polygamy and Lynita clarifies how the main branch of the LDS Church has long ago renounced this practice even though some offshoot sects of the faith still practice it. We discuss how shows such as Big Love often give a skewed view of what Mormons actually believe and do. All of this is within the context of the American ideal of religious tolerance, which we note that Americans sometimes have a hard time living up to. Our podcast finishes with a discussion of Mitt Romney and the role that he is playing in making Mormonism a more accepted faith within American society. Recorded: August 22, 2012.

RELATED LINKS

LDS in the USA: Mormonism and the Making of American Culture, by Lee Trepanier and Lynita K. Newswander.

Mitt Romney’s “Faith in America” speech at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library (December 6, 2007).

RELATED PODCASTS

Michael McBride on Religious Free-Riding and the Mormon Church.

Patrick Mason on Anti-Mormonism and Mitt Romney.

Allison Pond on Being a Mormon Missionary.

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

tonygill — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 08:00:31 +0000

What’s the news in the world of religion? We check in with author and blogger extraordinaire, Jeremy Lott of RealClearReligion (and other RealClear sites) to catch up with some of the more recent doings and happenings in the US and other parts of the world. We begin by talking about the most recent convention of the Episcopal Church of the USA. That conference produced a number of controversial actions on same-sex marriage, transgendered priests, and funeral rites for pets. We discuss this in the context of Ross Douthat’s New York Times’ column (see below) that Episcopalians are dropping in numbers rapidly and the trend looks gloomy for the future. Jeremy helps to put this in a larger context regarding liberal mainline denominations and the troubles they are facing in retaining members, while Tony wonders why these declining churches don’t adopt “best practices” from growing congregations just as many secular business do. Our continuing discussion on the supposed increase in “nones” (i.e., people declaring no religious affiliation in surveys) prompts Tony to reveal a new research project that he has been working on that deals with decreasing transportation costs. To figure out that link, you will have to listen closely in the podcast. Our conversation then transitions to the issue of atheists recently announcing their religious conversions, including Kaya Oakes who recently wrote a book about her conversion back to Catholicism. Jeremy gives his take on her recent book, pondering why she would go back to Catholicism when many of her ideological and philosophical views don’t match well with Church. All this discussion allows for Tony to help Jeremy with a recent moral quandry he found himself in. Readers of this passage will have to listen deep into the interview to find out what this issue was and the surprising solution your podcast host proposed. Speaking of moral quandries, the next issue to arise in our interview involves the struggle that the Catholic Church and Wheaton College are having with some of the mandates that have come down the pipeline from the Department of Health and Human Services via the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a topic we have addressed a few times previously on our show. Jeremy provides his insight into this matter and discuss what might become of the new lawsuit and what will happen in various election scenarios. We then pivot quickly to talk about the issue of Mormonism in the upcoming presidential election with Jeremy providing his thoughts on that topic, including how evangelicals including Robert Jeffers are coming around to the idea of supporting a Mormon candidate in Mitt Romney. We next deal with an issue that is on the cutting edge of the news — the German circumcision controversy that arose when a four-year old died during this procedure and prompted calls for legally ending the practice. That in turn prompted calls of religious discrimination and Jeremy explains how all of this played out. Finally, Tony poses Jeremy with a question that we presented to other scholars on an earlier podcast: Would you have, as a Christian, fought in US War of Independence? Hear Jeremy’s answer in our closing moments. Recorded: July 19, 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).

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.

“Can Liberal Christianity Be Saved?” by Ross Douthat in The New York Times (July 14, 2012).

“The Church Vanishes,” by Philip Jenkins on Patheos.com.

“Perhaps Atheists Should Be Hitting the Panic Button,” by Timothy Dalrymple on Patheos.com.

Radical Reinvention: An Unlikely Return to the Catholic Church, by Kaya Oakes.

RELATED PODCASTS

Jeremy Lott on RealClearReligion.

Hunter Baker on the End of Secularism.

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

Should Christians Have Fought in the US War of Independence?

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

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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.

Patrick Mason on Anti-Mormonism and Mitt Romney

tonygill — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:00:31 +0000

With Mitt Romney making waves as a presidential candidate frontrunner for the Republican Party, we visit with Prof. Patrick Mason — the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Momon Studies at the Claremont Graduate University — to discuss the history of anti-Mormon bigotry in the United States tracing it back to the founding of the faith in the 1820s. We start be examining the diaspora of Mormons westward and into the postbellum South, the latter which is the focus of Prof. Mason’s most recent book. Patrick provides a detailed description of the Cane Creek Massacre, which exemplifies some of the violent hostility faced by Mormons in the 19th century. Our conversation covers Mormon relations with Native Americans and African Americans, and then moves on to cover one of the most controversial aspects of Mormon history — polygamy — which served to animate a great deal of the animosity that the LDS Church faced. Prof. Mason explains the historical aspect of that practice, how it was viewed by non-Mormons, and why it was eventually abandoned by the main church. Tony then raises two interesting questions about why Mormons have become one of the most patriotic segments of American society, and why anti-Mormonism has persisted even though many of the issues that gave rise to bigotry have been resolved for over a century, namely the polygamy question. As to the former question, we speculate about why a persecuted religious minority would strongly embrace the patriotic norms of a nation that once excluded them. The latter question leads us into a discussion of whether lingering bias against Mormons will affect the presidential aspirations of Mitt Romney, and we make comparisons to the cultural obstacles that Catholics and Jews had to overcome to be accepted into the mainstream of American political life. Recorded: September 19, 2011

RELATED LINKS

Patrick Q. Mason’s website at the Claremont Graduate University.

The Mormon Menace: Violence and Anti-Mormonism in the Postbellum South, by Patrick Q. Mason.

Claremont Mormon Studies website.

RELATED PODCASTS

Michael McBride on Religious Free-Riding and the Mormon Church.

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

Louis Bolce on the Media and Anti-Fundamentalism.

Bradley R.E. Wright on Christian Stereotypes.

William Donohue on Secular Sabotage.