Religious Beliefs On Political Participation

Faith and Politics: The Influence of Religious Beliefs on Political Participation
Author(s): Robyn Driskell, Elizabeth Embry and Larry Lyon

Source: Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 89, No. 2 (JUNE 2008), pp. 294-314
Published by: Wiley
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/42956315
Accessed: 29-11-2019 07:03 UTC
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms
Wiley is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Social Science
Quarterly
This content downloaded from 203.188.94.162 on Fri, 29 Nov 2019 07:03:56 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Faith and Politics: The Influence
of Religious Beliefs on
Political Participation*
Robyn Driskell, Baylor University
Elizabeth Embry, Baylor University
Larry Lyon, Baylor University
Objective. The relationship between religion and political participation has not
been rigorously investigated, typically employing only basic measures of church
attendance or denomination. In this study, we utilize precise measures of various
religious behaviors, traditions, and beliefs to examine their influence on political
participation. Methods. Using data from the Baylor Religion Survey 2005, we
demonstrate that merely including measures of church attendance or denomination
camouflages much of religion's influence on political participation. Results. We
find that religious beliefs are significandy related to national political participation.
For religious activities, identifying with a religious tradition reduces participation,
but participation in church activities increases political participation. Conclu-
sion. Different types of religious beliefs influence political participation differently.
Although some macro religious beliefs significantly increase macro political behav-
ior, believers in an involved God are less likely to participate politically. Individ-
ualistic, micro beliefs have no affect on national politics. Thus, the scope of the
religious belief fits with the scope of the political activity, in that more macro
concerns translate to national political participation.
Since the pioneering work of Durkheim (Durkheim, 1912; Hunter,

1996), the role of religion in politics in society has been studied in various
ways. Following Durkheim, scholars of political participation have generally
focused on religious behavior and overlooked, disregarded, or underesti-
mated the possible influence of religious beliefs on levels of political par-
ticipation. In contrast to the breadth of the literature on the influence
of church attendance or denomination on politics (Guth and Green, 1990;
Kellstedt et al., 1994; Lehrer, 2004; Putnam, 2000; Verba, Schlozman, and
Brady, 1995), there is relatively little or less literature on the influence of
other religious activities or religious beliefs on political participation. We
*Direct correspondence to Robyn Driskell, Department of Sociology, Baylor University,

One Bear PL #97326, Waco, TX 76798-7326. She will provide all data and coding materials
to those wishing to replicate the study. The authors thank the anonymous referees for their
comments.
SOCIAL SCIENCE QUARTERLY, Volume 89, Number 2, June 2008

© 2008 by the Southwestern Social Science Association
Influence of Religious Beließ on Political Participation 295
will add religious activities and beliefs as explanatory variables and show that
previous measures of religion are often too narrow to fully explore the
impacts on political participation.
The Influence of Religion
Social science research on religion dates back to Durkheim's Elementary

Forms of Religious Life (1912) and Weber's Protestant Ethic and the Spirit
of Capitalism ([1904-1905] 1958). In spite of the continuing homage
played to the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and its focus on
religious belief, the Durkheimian, behavioral perspectives gained dominance
in research on religion (Stark, 2001). Durkheim's view emphasizes how the
rituals of religion (in most modern research, denomination, church mem-
bership, attending church, or participating in church activities) serve to
create group solidarity, strengthening the ties between individuals and their
society. However, some research supporting the importance of religious
belief does exist.
Religious belief leading to secular behavior is grounded in the work of
Max Weber, and his studies of early Protestant societies. Although some
research tests Weber's thesis by comparing secular action against specific
Calvinistic beliefs (Broughton, 1978), many have extrapolated from Weber's
original work to include other religious beliefs (Lehrer, 2004; Williams and
Demerath, 1991; Winter, 1991), finding in most cases that religious belief
was a better predictor of behavior than religious participation (including
church attendance and denominational affiliation). For example, in a study
on monetary giving among members of the Presbyterian Church (USA),
Lunn, Klay, and Douglass (2001) found that even within the same de-
nomination, theological beliefs changed behavior. Presbyterians who con-
sidered themselves more theologically conservative gave more to their
churches and other religious organizations, while those who considered
themselves more theologically liberal gave more to secular charities.1
If, in fact, religious beliefs matter generally, then beliefs should play a role
specifically in political participation. However, most research on religion
and political participation continues to focus on religious behavior. These
studies indicate that increased levels of religious participation (i.e., behavior)
lead to increased levels of political participation (Jones-Correa and Leal,
2001; McKenzie, 2001; Peterson, 1992; Verba, Schlozman, and Brady,
1995). A central question is whether religious belief influence political par-
ticipation. We will include types of both micro and macro religious beliefs
(cf. Mutz, 1998) to assess the impact on national political participation.
First, however, a review of the literature on church attendance, religious
behavior, religious beliefs, and political participation will highlight the
^ore broadly and recendy, see Brooks (2006) on political ideology and charitable giving.
296 Social Science Quarterly
controversies on the role of religion and un
of previous measures.
Religious Behavior and Politics
Church attendance is the most common

behavior. Research typically shows a posit
attendance on voting participation (Peter
Leege, 1993). Beyond voting, church atte
impact on broad participation in political act
campaigning, organizing, or attending sp
2003; Jones-Correa and Leal, 2001). Howe
found to be unrelated to more demanding
such as running for office or holding lea
(McKenzie, 2001; Verba, Schlozman, and
Other measures of religious behavior in
church-learned organizational skills. Chu
for both political and social movements su
(Beyerlein and Hipp, 2006) and, more rec
(Green, Rozell, and Wilcox, 2001). Clergy
messages politically mobilizing church m
organizational skills learned in the church ca
participation (Greenberg, 2000; Jones-Co
and Hansen (1993) emphasize the importa
how the changing political environment i
Reflecting these studies, we include chur
also other activities and involvement, such
grams, and prayer meetings. We also susp
various forms of religious behavior. The
behavior and include measures of religiou
Religious Beließ and Politics
Some recent scholarship has begun to inc

rather than focusing entirely on religious b
that belief should be studied more extens
lievers place more importance on the beliefs
the rituals themselves, stating succinctly
2 A debate exists about the reliability of measures of

surveys (e.g., Hadaway, Marler, and Chaves, 199
perspective, such an exchange may be methodological
presented in our research, we will agree with Iann
narrow focus on church attendance may be "unwar
(2001:471). Stark further claims that "participation in religious rites and
rituals will have little or no independent effect" (2001:470); instead, it is
religious beließ that influence both sacred and secular behavior.
Beliefs may matter, but current research on politics often lacks depth of
measures to fully evaluate the influence of religious beliefs. We aim to
investigate how local (micro) and global (macro) religious beliefs influence
national political participation.
Social scientists from de Tocqueville ([1840] 1945) to Skocpol and
Fiorina (1999) distinguish between micro and macro experiences and the
effects on the collective activities of political participation. Mutz (1998),
for example, distinguishes between personal (micro) and collective (macro)
experiences and finds that these individual and mass society perceptions
influence overall political opinions in very different ways. Political scientists
and economists have made similar observations about the difference between
individual and aggregate economic conditions and voting choices (e.g., Fair,
1982; Alvarez and Nagler, 1995). We extend the collective and personal
experiences to include micro and macro levels of religious beliefs and
examine their impact on political participation. Just as macro economic
beliefs affect voting behavior, we anticipate that macro religious beliefs will
influence political participation.
We use micro and macro measures to categorize types of religious beliefs;
however, previous research has commonly used denomination as a proxy for
religious beliefs. It is assumed that the denominations hold certain organized
beliefs and a church member of a particular denomination would also hold
the same beliefs. However, Broughton (1978) shows that church teachings
are internalized and interpreted differently by each congregant. The self-
proclaimed beliefs of the church matter less as people construct what Robert
Wuthnow (1988) calls a "patchwork religion," taking particular beliefs from
different religious traditions and forming their own opinions that do not
necessarily mesh with any of the established traditions. Further, attempting
to classify people by denomination is problematic given that many people
are poorly informed about their actual affiliation, referring to themselves
merely as "Baptist," for example, rather than "Southern Baptist," or "Lu-
theran" as opposed to "Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." A
respondent's inability to clearly identify an actual denomination is crucial
due to the great variation in theology and beliefs among groups falling under
a single, generic label such as "Baptist." And if the respondents accurately
identify their denominations, the various denominations are so numerous as
to make statistical interpretation difficult.
In response to these measurement problems, Steensland et al.'s (2000)
classification system divides denominations into six nominal religious tra-
ditions based on self-reported denomination: Catholic, black Protestant,
evangelical Protestant, mainline Protestant, Jewish, and other. These six
categories provide a complex scheme that considers "theological criteria
derived from denominational creeds and associational criteria taken from
denominational membership status in na
(Steensland et al., 2000:297). This classific
ingful interpretations because the categor
distina religious types grounded in the de
ious traditions. Given its acceptance and incl
(Bader and Froese, 2005; Beyerlein and C
2006; Brewer, Kersh, and Petersen, 200
Woodberry and Smith, 1998), we will us
sification of U.S. religious traditions, allowin
research, and avoiding many of the pitfalls
The findings on broad denominational diff
by Steensland and political participation are
differences. Verba, Schlozman, and Brady
litical activities between Protestants and Cat
belief, but differences in congregational
found higher levels of political participat
than among evangelicals and black Prote
social class. Beyerlein and Chaves (2003) f
specialize in different modes of political p
more than quantitative, differences exist in
traditions. However, Jones-Correa and L
tional differences in political participation
variation among religious traditions but typ
as a reason for differences in religious tradi
Beyond denomination, the literature on
and evangelicalism acknowledges some ef
(Küllstedt et al., 1994; Wald, Owen, and H
1998). However, the definitions and find
research does not support fundamentalism
tion (Manza and Brooks, 1997; McKenzi
inconsistencies by using the category of eva
group, a term that arguably has more
(Steensland et al., 2000).
Finally, a few researchers measure religi
one's belief in a literal interpretation of t
cites the important role of biblical liter
1991; Ellison and Sherkat, 1993), others f
not significantly impact specific topics o
Froese, 2005). Our research will help clarif
Political Participation
The last several years have seen a rev

participation. The response of social scie
"Bowling Alone" individualism has been aimed at finding an explanation
for political participation or exploring the characteristics of political in-
volvement. Recent research has found various attributes that contribute to
levels of political participation, such as race and ethnicity (Stokes, 2003;
Wielhouwer, 2000), gender (Schlozman, Burns, and Verba, 1999; Verba,
Burns, and Schlozman, 1997), age (Campbell, 2002), marital status (Stoker
and Jennings, 1995), and economic levels (Brady, Verba, and Schlozman,
1995; Verba et al., 1993), all measures we include in this research.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the depth of literature concerning political
participation, political participation is seldom measured consistendy (Sch-
wartz, 1984). Many studies relate religion to voting (Alex-Assensoh and
Assensoh, 2001; Campbell, 2002; Wielhouwer, 2000). Duff and colleagues
(2007) caution researchers on using a single measure such as voting, due to
consistent overreporting of voting rates. Brady, Verba, and Schlozman
(1995) developed a resource model of political participation beyond socio-
economic status (SES) to include time, money, and civic skills. Despite their
findings on the importance of resources on political participation, a stan-
dardized measurement of political participation has not emerged and been
used consistendy in the field. Others examine political activities beyond
voting, such as party identification (Layman, 1997; Manza and Brooks,
1997); or attending a rally and campaigning (Jones-Correa and Leal, 2001);
or donating money (Leal, 2002); or local civic participation (McKenzie,
2001); or running for office (Beyerlein and Chaves, 2003; Guth and Green,
1990); or various combinations of voting, campaigning, donating money,
writing letters, and attending rallies (Brady, Verba, and Schlozman, 1995;
Calhoun-Brown, 1996; Gershtenson, 2002; Guth et al., 2003; Leighley and
Vedlitz, 1999; McClurg, 2003; Stoker and Jennings, 1995), all measures we
include in this research.
Beyond including these political activities, we expand our measures of
political participation to include reading newspaper or magazine stories
about the election; visiting Internet sites related to the election; giving
money to a political campaign, party, or candidate; writing, calling, or
visiting a public official; attending a political rally or meeting; attending
a class or lecture about social or political issues; participating in a public
protest or demonstration; working for a political campaign or voter reg-
istration drive; watching or listening to a political debate; and voting.
It seems clear that religion can influence political participation, but it
remains unclear which particular aspects of religion play the greatest role in
political participation. Is it church attendance, or religious traditions, or
other types of religious behaviors, or, as we will predict, religious beliefs?
Previous studies on the topic have been limited by data on only specific
churches (Becker and Dhingra, 2001; Brewer, Kersh, and Petersen, 2003;
Greenberg, 2000; Verba, Schlozman, and Brady, 1995), or quantitative
studies with small samples (Guth et al., 2003; Uslaner, 2002), or single
variables of church attendance (Hougland and Christenson, 1983) and voting
participation (Alex-Assensoh and Assensoh
of comprehensive research with national sam
contain multiple types of political activit
ment of religion's effects on political part
national sample and in-depth questions co
religious beliefs and various categories of
trace the nuanced effects of religion on p
Hypotheses
Based on the previous research, we explore

iors and beliefs on political participation.
are various types of political participation
religious traditions, and religious beliefs.
It is hypothesized that religious beliefs w
than church attendance or religious trad
(HI). Furthermore, it is expected that sp
correspond to national political participa
economics and political science of social b
hypothesized that broad, generalized macr
tional political participation more than n
micro religious beliefs (H2).
Data and Methods
Our data come from the Baylor Religion Survey, a national survey con-
ducted by the Gallup Organization in conjunction with Baylor University. It
is one of the few nationally representative surveys to measure in detail
multiple dimensions of religion and politics. The data set is comprised of
1,721 completed surveys nationwide among adults age 18 and over, using
a mixed-mode sampling design (telephone and self-administered mailed
surveys). Gallup recruited participants by telephone and then mailed the
survey. Of the individuals who initially agreed on the telephone to partic-
ipate, 62 percent returned the self-administered mail survey. Compared with
a GSS national sample, the Gallup sample is representative and scores sim-
ilar levels of religious and political ideals. About one-third of the survey is
dedicated to religious affiliation, identity, belief, experience, and commit-
ment (a copy of the survey is available on request). The remaining questions
3Previous studies on religion and political participation are hindered by small, nonrep-
resentative, qualitative data. We are able to discern the effects of religion variables on a larger
scale, using quantitative data. Further, we examine political participation in a larger context
than merely voting behavior. The nature of the respondent's national participation is taken
into account, as well as the rarity of the events in which the respondent has participated.
Influence of Religious Beliefi on Political Participation 301
include demographic characteristics, moral attitudes, political opinions, and
civic engagement.4
We focus on the same collective form of political participation that other
scholars have used. Following a common tradition found in the literature
on political participation (Brady, Verba, and Schlozman, 1995; Gershten-
son, 2002; Jones-Correa and Leal, 2001; Mutz, 1998; Stoker and Jennings,
1995; Verba and Nie, 1972), we aggregated our dependent variable into a
single political participation index variable.5
Our index is a count score constructed from a series of questions asking
respondents how many of the following political activities the respondent
participated in leading up to the 2004 presidential election: (1) reading
newspaper or magazine stories about the election; (2) visiting Internet sites
related to the election; (3) giving money to a political campaign, party, or
candidate; (4) writing, calling, or visiting a public official; (5) attending
a political rally or meeting; (6) attending a class or lecture about social or
political issues; (7) participating in a public protest or demonstration; (8)
working for a political campaign or voter registration drive; (9) watching or
listening to a political debate; and (10) voting in the 2004 presidential
election. Respondents were asked to choose either "Yes" or "No" for each of
these activities, and each "Yes" response was given a value of 1, and then
summed across all activities to determine each respondent's political activity
score. The political participation variable is internally consistent with Cron-
bach's alpha score of 0.71.
A set of standard demographics, shown to be significant in previous
studies on political participation, were included as control variables: race
(white = 1, nonwhite = 0), gender (female = 1, males = 0), marital status
(married = 1, all else = 0), number of children living in the household,
educational attainment (8th-grade education or less = 1, 9th- 12th grade
with no high school diploma = 2, high school graduate = 3, some col-
lege = 4, trade/ technical/vocational training = 5, college graduate = 6, and
postgraduate work or degree = 7), income (ranges from 1 to 7, $10,000 or
less = 1, to more than $150,000 = 7), employment status (employed = 1,
all else = 0), and age (continuous, in years). Political party affiliation is
included as a scale variable to the question: "How would you describe
yourself politically?" Democrat includes the responses leaning Demo-
4See Bader, Froese, and Mencken (forthcoming) for a detailed description of this survey.
Similar to Gershtenson (2002), we do not perform analysis of the individual political
participation variables because we are not interested in drawing conclusions or comparisons
across single forms of participation; instead, we focus on collective political participation of
various types. For example, we are not as concerned with the effect of respondents who read
the newspaper about the election or the effect of respondents who participated in a political
protest. Rather, we concentrate on the collective form to explain political participation
instead of isolated or rare events related to political participation. Further, we examine
political participation in a larger context than merely voting behavior. The nature of the
respondent's participation is taken into account, as well as the rarity of the events in which
the respondent has participated.
erat = 1, moderate Democrat = 2, strong
egories, including independent, leaning R
and strong Republican, are given a value
Denominational affiliation was measured
classification of U.S. religious traditions:
gelical Protestant, mainline Protestant, Jew
of this analysis, the first five groups were
tified with some other religious tradit
unaffiliated, as the reference group.
To measure religious participation, three
participation in religious activities, the resp
a church or other religious organization,
attends church. The index of participati
ranging from 0 to 10) includes whether
ticipated in various kinds of religious acti
education programs, choir practice or ot
sponsored counseling programs, commun
grams, church upkeep and maintenance,
administrative work at church, small group
Current level of involvement in a church
coded from 0 to 4: respondents were aske
volunteer for, or hold a leadership positio
attendance was measured on a standard s
several times a week= 8). The correlation
ticipation variables were tested and no col
Next, religious beliefs are measured, with t
micro and macro religious beliefs. The micro
that are personal and affect individual con
religious beliefs that include broad, world
sets are not direct opposites, the factor anal
ables indicate a natural fit into either the m
problems of high collinearity. The religiou
analysis were the best indicators of distinct
research that usually includes a single ind
were able to differentiate beliefs from behav
into micro and macro religious beliefs. As
political participation leading up to the 2
expected that broad, aggregate macro belief
political participation than the more ind
beliefs.
Micro religious beliefs were measured with a series of questions about the
importance of religious beliefs in the respondent's immediate surroundings
and individual concerns. Three questions concerning the topics of prayer
were included (all defined as yes =1): prayer topic about the people listed
in their church's bulletin, program, or newsletter; prayer topic about the
respondent's own personal finances; and prayer topic about the respondent's
own spiritual life or relationship with God. Note that the measure is on the
nature of prayer and prayer topics (i.e., beliefs) and not prayer activity or the
number of times one prays (i.e., behavior).
Macro beliefs concern a broad view, a more general set of beliefs, and
people the respondents do not know personally - beliefs that are not based
as much on individual experiences. We use similar questions to test macro
religious beliefs: the topic of prayer about general world concerns (yes =1);
the topic of prayer about people they do not know personally (yes =1);
whether the respondent believes that God is directly involved in worldly
affairs (yes =1); and the importance of seeking social and economic justice
in being a good person (scale from not at all important = 0 to very im-
portant = 3). Biblical literalism is also included, measured by whether the
respondent endorses a literal interpretation of the Bible ("The Bible means
exacdy what it say s. It should be taken literally, word for word, on all
subjects" = 1; all else = 0).
The distribution of the dependent variable, political participation, does
not meet the assumptions of traditional models with a normal distribution
because it is a count of the rarity of specific events, thus falling instead into a
Poisson distribution. Count data rarely meet the traditional statistics as-
sumptions because they are skewed (to the right), they are nonnegative, and
the variance is not constant. To predict values of a dependent variable with
a Poisson distribution (skewed and nonnegative), Poisson regression is ap-
propriate. Thus, we employ a Poisson regression with a log transformation
that adjusts for skewness and prevents the model from producing negative
predicted values (Long, 1997).
Three Poisson models were used to fully and sequentially explore the role
of the various independent variables on the indexed level of political activity.
Model 1 includes the control demographic variables and religious traditions.
Model 2 includes the demographic variables, religious traditions, and re-
ligious participation. Model 3 incorporates all variables in a full model
including demographic variables, religious traditions, religious activities, and
religious beliefs.
Findings
According to the descriptive statistics in Table 1, political participants are

more likely to be married, middle aged, white, employed, middle income,
females, and highly educated. Nearly 80 percent of those respondents who
are politically active attend church, and half are involved in other religious
activities. The mean score of political participation (scale 1-10) is presented
for the religious traditions. Jews, Mainline Protestants, and Catholics have
higher mean scores of political participation than evangelical Protestants and
black Protestants.
TABLE 1
Descriptive Statistics for Selected Variables by Political Participation
Political Participants
N 1,694
Demographi
Female 56.6%
Male 43.4%
# of Children 2.0
Married 62.1%
Nonmarried 37.9%
White 88.6%
Nonwhite 1 1 .4%
Education
Less than high school 3.5%
High school, no college degree 47.6%
College degree 48.9%
Income
$35,000 or less 26.3%
$35,001-50,000 18.7%
$50,001-100,000 34.4%
$100,001 or more 20.7%
Employed 61 .6%
Age 53.6
Religious Parti
Church attendance 79.0%
Church activities (index) 50.9%
Church involvement 54. 1 %
Religious Tradition Mean Score of Political Participation
Catholic 4.4
Black Protestant 3.7
Evangelical Protestant 4.0
Mainline Protestant 4.5
Jewish 5.1
In Figure 1,
church attend
Protestants re
the mean sco
tradition has t
of church atte
ditions least
active, the ov
litical partici
gression analy
attendance, alt
This inverse
tendance sugg
FIGURE 1
Mean Levels of Political Participation and Church Attendance by

Religious Tradition
involved in a religious tradition, the less time there is available to be involved

in other activities (political, civic, or otherwise). Results in Figure 1 dem-
onstrate initial support for Iannaccone's (1990) economy of time thesis as
more church attendance is associated with less political participation.
There may be several explanations independent of church attendance for
this outcome. Beyond the obvious differences in social background, research
on black churches finds that association with the church strengthens African-
American ties and racial identity and diminishes ties to the dominant com-
munity, therefore resulting in blacks being less likely to participate in the
civic and political organizations of the dominant group (Sidanius et al.,
1997). Further research on black churches finds that the church provides
support and protection from the harsh injustices of society and that blacks
are less likely to contribute to the political community due to these injustices
(Chatters, Taylor, and Lincoln, 1999; Taylor, Lincoln, and Chatters, 2005).
Others research finds that evangelical Protestants and black Protestants
are likely to withdraw from political activities and rather than focus on
collective action for the broader community (i.e., political participation),
they focus on more spiritual concerns and the personal salvation of indi-
viduals (Emerson and Smith, 2000; Greenberg, 2000; Iannaccone, 1994;
Wuthnow, 2002). The Baylor Survey data (see Figure 2) further support this
premise. Both evangelical Protestants and black Protestants are much more
likely to believe that God is directly involved in world affairs. Believers in
such an active God may be less likely to be involved in political activities. It
can be reasoned that if one believes God determines worldly affairs, then
FIGURE 2
Mean Levels of Political Participation and Percent Who Agree that "God is Directly
Involved in World Affairs" by Religious Tradition
there is little reason for individuals to participate in civic events; God is

taking care of things. However, if one believes that God is more inactive, as
is common with Jews and mainline Protestants, then one would need to take
action and more likely be politically engaged. Just as with religious tradition
and church attendance, this relationship can also be more fully evaluated
with a multiple regression model. The inverse relationship between religious
beliefs of an involved God and political participation holds statistically sig-
nificant in the full regression model.
In Table 2, Model 1 shows the results from the Poisson regression model
of the control demographic variables and religious traditions on political
participation and shows that demographic measures (sex and age) and
SES measures (education and income) have an expected positive impact
on political participation. Older and male respondents and respondents
with higher education and income are more likely to participate politically.
Religious traditions are also associated with political participation in this
nationally representative sample. Catholics and evangelical Protestants have
negative and significant effects, being less likely to participate politically than
the nonaffiliated comparison group.
Model 2 of Table 2 incorporates the demographic variables, religious
traditions, and adds religious participation. Consistent with Model 1, sex,
age, education, and income continue to have positive significant effects on
political participation. Religious traditions also continue to have a negative
effect, with Catholic, evangelical Protestant, and mainline Protestant all
being significantly less likely to participate politically than the comparison
TABLE 2
Results for Poisson Regression Model of Religious Tradition, Participation, and

Belief on Political Participation
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Intercept 0.952 0.959 0.987

Demographics
Female -0.059* -0.072** -0.085**
Number of children 0.004 0.000 0.001
Married -0.008 -0.023 -0.011
White -0.004 - 0.003 - 0.036
Education 0.055*** 0.050*** 0.049***
Income 0.042*** 0.045*** 0.040***
Employed 0.041 0.037 0.019
Age 0.003** 0.003** 0.002
Democrat -0.007 -0.013 -0.018
Religious Tradition
Catholic -0.083* -0.085* -0.119**
Black Protestant -0.121 -0.161 - 0. 1 58
Evangelical Protestant -0.128** -0.164*** -0.140**
Mainline Protestant - 0.068 - 0.093* - 0.1 20**
Jewish 0.005 -0.002 -0.076
Religious Participation
Church attendance - 0.008 - 0.01 0
Church activities (index) 0.023** 0.023**
Church involvement 0.029* 0.033*
Religious Belief
Micro religious beliefs
Prayer topic about people at church 0.025
Prayer topic about financial concerns - 0.009
Prayer topic about personal spiritual life - 0.032
Macro religious beliefs
Prayer topic about general world concerns 0.094**
Prayer topic about strangers 0.038
Importance of social and economic justice 0.067***
God is directly involved in world affairs - 0.025*
Literal interpretation of the Bible - 0.079
Pseudo fř 11.19% 12.87% 18.60%
♦Significant at the 0.05 level; **significant at th
group of nonaffiliated. We include th

participation showing distinct types an
including three separate measures, we
standing of religious participation by ex
of church attendance. Interestingly, c
but participating in church activities
involvement have a positive and significa
Simply sitting in the pew appears not to
church activities and levels of church in
political participation. The lack of influen
litical participation in our study might b
previous literature. However, much of th
of church attendance and does not inclu
activities. When these additional measure
included, the effects of attendance diminish
Model 3 of Table 2 shows the more pow
political participation, now including relig
ucation, and income continue to show signif
with the literature. Consistent with Mod
insignificant in Model 3, while participation
levels of church involvement continue to be
Religious tradition remains negative and
gelical Protestant, and mainline Protestant
be politically involved than the nonaffiliated
negative finding of all religious tradition
research documents that the religiously affi
to be involved (Emerson and Smith, 2000
1997). This fits with Wuthnow's (1988) ob
nificance of denomination and the more r
ditions has no effect (Jones-Correa and
our model suggests more strongly that
consistently negative effect.6
In Model 3 of Table 2, the religious belief
participating in national politics are the m
beliefs of directly experienced prayer to
"your own financial concerns," and "perso
cant. The macro religious beliefs of pray
concerns," "seeking social and economic
directly involved in worldly affairs" are a
prayer topics include general world conc
seeking social and economic justice are more
Conversely, those who believe in a God inv
likely to be involved politically. As explained
God actively involved in worldly affairs,
ipate politically. However, if one believes
6Other more specific explanations concerning Ca

complicated relationship between religious traditio
case of Catholicism, due to recent sexual abuse sca
political views of the church, some parishioners are w
involvement (Russello, 2005). Or, the organized h
provide fewer opportunities to be political or civ
Schlozman, and Brady, 1995). Also, Catholics are les
church to act politically (Campbell, 2004; Wilcox a
views of Catholicism have led to a separation of the
world of secular politics (Russello, 2005), resulting
need to take personal action and be more likely participate in politics.
Similar to the findings of Bader and Froese (2005), biblical literalism does
not significantly impact political participation.
Of key importance in Model 3 is the fact that religious beliefs play a
stronger role than religious participation in political participation in the
national election (HI) and, specifically, macro religious beliefs are the ones
that matter (H2). Those whose prayer topics include "general world con-
cerns" participate in national politics 9 percent more than those who do not,
while belief that "actively seeking social and economic justice is important in
being a good person" increases political participation by 6 percent.
Conclusions
Previous analysis on religion and political participation typically tied

behavioral measures such as church attendance to political participation. We
contest and extend these ideas, contending that there is something about
religion beyond the usual behavioral measures that influences political par-
ticipation. Specifically, we hypothesized that religious beliefs would affect
political participation more than other measures of religious behavior (HI).
Furthermore, beliefs were hypothesized to relate spatially to participation,
such that more macro religious beliefs would correspond to national political
participation, while micro beliefs would not translate to national political
participation (H2). Using a large, nationally representative sample, we mea-
sured the effects of religious traditions, religious participation, micro religious
beliefs, and macro religious beliefs on political participation. Our analyses lead
us to conclude that religion's effect on political participation is tied to religious
beliefs more than to religious behavior. Further supporting the significance
of religious beliefs is the finding that beliefs correspond to similar types of
behavior, that is, only macro beliefs affect participation in national elections.
Our results have wide-ranging implications for both the study of political
participation and the field of religion. First, our findings reveal different
rates of political participation by religious tradition. Much of the current
research on religion and political participation relies on religious traditions.
However, the data seldom match the rigor of the Baylor Survey. Research
showing denominational effects typically is not based on a national sample,
but instead utilizes a local, regional, or convenience sample (see Becker and
Dhingra, 2001); or does not employ Steensland et al.'s (2000) religious
traditions categories, but includes only a single category or denomination, such
as African-American churches (Calhoun-Brown, 1996); or does not include
measures of political participation, but instead includes measures of political
party affiliation (Layman, 1997), or measures of political tolerance (Beatty and
Walter, 1984), or measures of volunteerism (Park and Smith, 2000; Uslaner,
2002). When this new level of methodological rigor is added to the research,
the role of religious tradition becomes insignificant or negative.
Second, according to our results, even w
beliefs are left out of the model, church
affect the level of political participation
that while church attendance may be imp
future analysis, it should not be the sole
researchers must include more detailed meas
Third, and more central to our article, i
portance of religious beliefs. Of more specif
focused types of religious beliefs, more than
impact political participation. Research on
beliefs is often too narrow and qualitative
political participation at a national level.
Fourth, it is important to note that religio
with the religious tradition or the level of i
matter. Religious beliefs about social just
volved God are significantly related to na
Respondents with prayer topics about "ge
who believe that "actively seeking social and
being a good person" will participate in polit
hold these beliefs, even when controlling fo
participation. These are beliefs that transcen
Fifth, since the scope of the belief fits
activity, fixture research should further
relationship between religious belief and pol
cro religious beliefs as they apply to loc
topics about people whom the respondent
sonal finances or spiritual life, we suspect, w
local politics, as these beliefs are more perti
issues. Since macro religious beliefs influenc
further research should examine if micr
political participation or translate to local civ
found for macro-level beliefs. However, give
eration of religious beliefs, none of the ques
One final observation: our study suggests t
Emile Durkheim and traditionally focused
to the exclusion of religious beliefs may
portant about religion. Following Max
beliefs predict political participation better
suspect this may be true in other politica
REFERENCES
Alex-Assensoh, Yvette, and A. B. Assensoh. 2001. "Inner-City Contexts, Church Attend

and African-American Political Participation." Journal of Politics 63 (3): 8 86-901.
Alvarez, R. Michael, and Jonathan Nagler. 1995. "Economics, Issues and the Perot Can-
didacy: Voter Choice in the 1992 Presidential Election." American Journal of Political Science
39(3):7l4-44.
Bader, Christopher, and Paul Froese. 2005. "Images of God: The Effect of Personal The-
ologies on Moral Attitudes, Political Affiliation, and Religious Behavior." Interdisciplinary
Journal of Research on Religion 1 : arti cle 11. Available at (http://www.religjournal.com/).
Bader, Christopher, Paul Froese, and F. Carson Mencken. Forthcoming. "American Piety
2005: Content, Methods, and Selected Results from the Baylor Religion Survey." Journal for
the Scientific Study of Religion.
Beatty, Kathleen Murphy, and Oliver Walter. 1984. "Religious Preference and Practice:
Reevaluating Their Impact on Political Tolerance." Public Opinion Quarterly 48:318-29.
Becker, Penny Edgell, and Pawan H. Dhingra. 2001. "Religious Involvement and Volun-
teering: Implications for Civil Society." Sociology of Religion 62(3):3 15-35.
Beyerlein, Kraig, and Mark Chaves. 2003. "The Political Activities of Religious Congre-
gation in the United States." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 42(2) :229 -46.
Beyerlein, Kraig, and John R. Hipp. 2006. "From Pews to Participation: The Effect of
Congregation Activity and Context on Bridging Civic Engagement." Social Problems
53(1):97-117.
Brady, Henry E., Sidney Verba, and Kay Lehman Schlozman. 1995. "Beyond SES: A
Resource Model of Political Participation." American Political Science Review 89(2):271-94.
Brewer, Mark D., Rogan Kersh, and R. Eric Petersen. 2003. "Assessing Conventional Wis-
dom About Religion and Politics: A Preliminary View from the Pews." Journal for the
Scientific Study of Religion 42(1): 125-36.
Brooks, Arthur C. 2006. Who Really Cares : The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Con-
servatism. New York: Basic Books.
Broughton, Walter. 1978. "Religiosity and Opposition to Church Social Action: A Test of
the Weberian Hypothesis." Review of Religious Research 19(2): 154-66.
Calhoun-Brown, Allison. 1996. "African-American Churches and Political Mobilization:
The Psychological Impact of Organizational Resources." Journal of Politics 58:935-53.
Campbell, Andrea Louise. 2002. "Self-interest, Social Security, and the Distinctive Partic-
ipation Patterns of Senior Citizens." American Political Science Review 96(3): 565-74.
Campbell, David E. 2004. "Acts of Faith: Churches and Political Engagement." Political
Behavior 26(2): 155-80.
Chatters, Linda M., Robert Joseph Taylor, and Karen D. Lincoln. 1999. "African American
Religious Participation: A Multi-Sample Comparison." Journal for the Scientific Study of
Religion 38(1): 132 - 45.
Djupe, Paul A., and J. Tobin Grant. 2001. "Religious Institutions and Political Participation
in America." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 40(2):303- 14.
Duff, Brian, Michael J. Hanmer, Won-Ho Park, and Ismail K. White. 2007. "Good Excuses:
Understanding Who Votes with an Improved Turnout Question." Public Opinion Quarterly
71 (1):67- 90.
Durkheim, Emile. 1912. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life , K. E. Fields, trans. New
York: Free Press.
Ellison, Christopher G. 1991. "An Eye for an Eye? A Note on the Southern Subculture of
Violence Thesis." Social Forces 69(4): 1223-39.
Ellison, Christopher G., and Darren E. Sherkat.
Support for Corporal Punishment." American Socio
Emerson, Michael, and Christian Smith. 2000.

University Press.
Evans, John H. 2006. "Cooperative Coalitions on th

the Resilience of Sectarianism." Journal for the Scien
Fair, Ray C. 1982. "The Effect of Economic Events

Review of Economic and Statistics 64(2):322-25.
Gershtenson, Joseph. 2002. "Partisanship and Partic

1952-1996." Political Research Quarterly 55(3):68
Green, John C., Mark J. Rozell, and Clyde Wilcox. 20

The Case of the Christian Right." Journal for the Säe
Greenberg, Anna. 2000. "The Church and the Revit

Political Science Quarterly 11 5(3): 377-94.
Guth, James L., Linda Beail, Greg Crow, Beverly

James Penning, and Jeff Walz. 2003. "The Politica
Election of 2000: A Case Study of Five Denominatio
Religion 42(4):501-14.
Guth, James L., and John C. Green. 1990. "Polit

ticipation Among Political Activists." Western Poli
Hadaway, C. K., P. L. Marler, and M. Chaves. 1993.

Look at United States Church Attendance." Americ
Hougland, J. G., and J. A. Christenson. 1983. "Re

Religious Participation to Political Efficacy and Inv
67: 405-20.
Hout, Michael, and Andrew Greeley. 1998. "What

Another Look at Church Attendance Data." Americ
Hunter, James Davison. 1996. "Response to D

Durkheim." Journal for the Scientific Study of Rel
Iannaccone, Laurence R. 1990. "Religious Practice

for the Scientific Study of Religion 29:297-314.
Iannaccone, Laurence R., and Sean F. Everton. 2004. "Never on Sunny

Weekly Attendance Counts." Journal for the Scientific Study of Reli
Jones-Correa, Michael A., and David L. Leal. 2001. "Political Partic

Matter?" Political Research Quarterly 54(4):751-70.
Kellstedt, Lyman A., John C. Green, James L. Guth, and Corwin E. S

Voting Blocs in the 1992 Election: The Year of the Evangelical?"
55(3):307-26.
Layman, Geoffrey C. 1997. "Religion and Political Behavior in th

Impact of Beliefs, Affiliations, and Commitment from 1980 to 1
Quarterly 61:288-316.
Leal, David L. 2002. "Political Participation by Latino Non-Citizens

British Journal of Political Science 32(2):353-71.
Lehrer, Evelyn L. 2004. "Religion as a Determinant of Economic and Demographic
Behavior in the United States." Population and Development Review 30(4):707-2 6.
Leighley, Jan E., and Arnold Vedlitz. 1999. "Race, Ethnicity, and Political Participation:
Competing Models and Contrasting Explanations." Journal of Politics 6 1 (4) : 1 092 - 1 114.
Long, J. Scott. 1997. Regression Models for Categorical and Limited Dependent Variables.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Lunn, John, Robin Klay, and Andrea Douglass. 2001. "Relationships Among Giving,
Church Attendance, and Religious Belief: The Case of the Presbyterian Church (USA)."
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 40(4):765-75.
Manza, Jeff, and Clem Brooks. 1997. "The Religious Factor in U.S. Presidential Election,
1960-1992." American Journal of Sociology 103(1):38- 81.
McClurg, Scott D. 2003. "Social Networks and Political Participation: The Role of
Social Interaction in Explaining Political Participation." Political Research Quarterly
56(4):449-64.
McKenzie, Brian D. 2001. "Self-Selection, Church Attendance, and Local Civic Participa-
tion." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 40(3):479-88.
Mutz, Diana C. 1998. Impersonal Influence: How Perceptions of Mass Collectives Affect Political
Attitudes. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Park, Jerry Z., and Christian Smith. 2000. "To Whom Much Has Been Given . . .: Religious
Capital and Community Voluntarism Among Churchgoing Protestants." Journal for the
Scientific Study of Religion 39:272-86.
Peterson, Steven A. 1992. "Church Participation and Political Participation." American

Politics Quarterly 20(1): 123-39.
Putnam, Robert. 2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.
New York: Simon and Schuster.
Rosenstone, Steven J., and John Mark Hansen. 1993. Mobilization , Participation , and
Democracy in America. New York: Macmillan.
Russello, Gerald J. 2005. "Catholics, Democracy, and Governing the Church." Review of
Politics 67(3): 539-50.
Schlozman, Kay Lehman, Nancy Burns, and Sidney Verba. 1999. "What Happened at Work
Today?: A Multistage Model of Gender, Employment, and Political Participation." Journal of
Politics 61 (1):29- 53.
Schwartz, Joel D. 1984. "Participation and Multisubjective Understanding: An Inter-

pretivist Approach to the Study of Political Participation." Journal of Politics 46(4):
1117-41.
Sidanius, Jim, Seymour Feshbach, Shana Levin, and Felicia Pratto. 1997. "The Interface
Between Ethnic and National Attachment: Ethnic Pluralism or Ethnic Dominance?" Public
Opinion Quarterly 61:102-33.
Skocpol, Theda, and M. P. Fiorina, eds. 1999. Civic Engagement in American Democracy.
Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Stark, Rodney. 2001. "Gods, Rituals, and the Moral Order." Journal for the Scientific Study of
Religion 40(4) :6 19-36.
Steensland, Brian, Jerry Z. Park, Mark D. Regnerus, Lynn D. Robinson, W. Bradford

Wilcox, and Robert D. Woodberry. 2000. "The Measure of American Religion: Toward
Improving the State of the Art." Social Forces 79(1):291-318.
Stoker, Laura, and M. Kent Jennings. 1995. "Life-Cy
ipation: The Case of Marriage." American Political Sci
Stokes, Atiya Kai. 2003. "Latino Group Consciousness

ican Politics Research 31 (4):361- 78.
Taylor, Robert Joseph, Karen D. Lincoln, and Linda M

tionships with Church Members Among African Ameri
Tocqueville, Alexis de [1840] 1945. Democracy in Am

York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Tuntiya, Nana. 2005. "Fundamentalist Religious Affiliat

A Critical Reexamination." Sociological Inquiry 75(2): 1
Uslaner, Eric M. 2002. "Religion and Civic Engagement

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 4l(2):239-54
Verba, Sidney, Nancy Burns, and Kay Lehman Schlo

About Politics: Gender and Political Engagement." Jour
Verba, Sidney, and Norman H. Nie. 1972. Participation

Social Equality. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Pres
Verba, Sidney, Kay Lehman Schlozman, and Henry Bra

Voluntarism in American Politics. Cambridge, MA: Harv
Verba, Sidney, Kay Lehman Schlozman, Henry Brady,

Activity: Who Participates? What Do They Say?" A
87(2):303- 1 8.
Wald, K. D., L. A. Kellstedt, and D. C. Leege. 1993. "Church Involvement and Political
Behavior." Pp. 121-38 in D. C. Leege and L. A. Kellstedt, eds., Rediscovering the Religious
Factor in American Politics. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
Wald, K. D., Dennis E. Owen, and Samual S. Hill Jr. 1988. "Churches as Political Com-
munities." American Political Science Review 82(2):531-48.
Weber, Max. [1904-1905] 1958. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. New York:
Charles Scribner s Sons.
Wielhouwer, Peter W. 2000. "Releasing the Fetters: Parties and the Mobilization of the
African-American Electorate." Journal of Politics 62(l):206-22.
Wilcox, Clyde, and Lee Sigelman. 2001. "Political Mobilization in the Pews: Religious
Contacting and Electoral Turnout." Social Science Quarterly 82(3):524-35.
Williams, Rhys H., and N. J. Demerath III. 1991. "Religion and Political Process in an
American City." American Sociological Review 56:417-31.
Winter, Alan J. 1991. "Religious Belief and Managerial Ideology: An Exploratory Study of
an Extrapolation from the Weber Thesis." Review of Religious Research 33(2): 169-75.
Woodberry, Robert D., and Christian S. Smith. 1998. "Fundamentalism et al: Conservative
Protestants in America." Annual Review of Sociology 24:25-56.
Wuthnow, Robert. 1988. The Restructuring of American Religion. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press.
Scientific Study of Religion 4l(4):669-84.

Religious Beliefs On Political Participation

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originaltitel

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Religious Beliefs On Political Participation

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Faith and Politics: The Influence of Religious Beliefs on Political Participation

Author(s): Robyn Driskell, Elizabeth Embry and Larry Lyon

Robyn Driskell, Baylor University

Elizabeth Embry, Baylor University

Larry Lyon, Baylor University

Since the pioneering work of Durkheim (Durkheim, 1912; Hunter,

*Direct correspondence to Robyn Driskell, Department of Sociology, Baylor University,

SOCIAL SCIENCE QUARTERLY, Volume 89, Number 2, June 2008

The Influence of Religion

Social science research on religion dates back to Durkheim's Elementary

Religious Behavior and Politics

Church attendance is the most common

Religious Beließ and Politics

Some recent scholarship has begun to inc

2 A debate exists about the reliability of measures of

The last several years have seen a rev

Based on the previous research, we explore

Data and Methods

According to the descriptive statistics in Table 1, political participants are

Descriptive Statistics for Selected Variables by Political Participation

Mean Levels of Political Participation and Church Attendance by

involved in a religious tradition, the less time there is available to be involved

there is little reason for individuals to participate in civic events; God is

Results for Poisson Regression Model of Religious Tradition, Participation, and

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3

Intercept 0.952 0.959 0.987

♦Significant at the 0.05 level; **significant at th

group of nonaffiliated. We include th

6Other more specific explanations concerning Ca

Previous analysis on religion and political participation typically tied

Alex-Assensoh, Yvette, and A. B. Assensoh. 2001. "Inner-City Contexts, Church Attend

Emerson, Michael, and Christian Smith. 2000.

Evans, John H. 2006. "Cooperative Coalitions on th

Fair, Ray C. 1982. "The Effect of Economic Events

Gershtenson, Joseph. 2002. "Partisanship and Partic

Green, John C., Mark J. Rozell, and Clyde Wilcox. 20

Greenberg, Anna. 2000. "The Church and the Revit

Guth, James L., Linda Beail, Greg Crow, Beverly

Guth, James L., and John C. Green. 1990. "Polit

Hadaway, C. K., P. L. Marler, and M. Chaves. 1993.

Hougland, J. G., and J. A. Christenson. 1983. "Re

Hout, Michael, and Andrew Greeley. 1998. "What

Hunter, James Davison. 1996. "Response to D

Iannaccone, Laurence R. 1990. "Religious Practice

Iannaccone, Laurence R., and Sean F. Everton. 2004. "Never on Sunny

Jones-Correa, Michael A., and David L. Leal. 2001. "Political Partic

Kellstedt, Lyman A., John C. Green, James L. Guth, and Corwin E. S

Layman, Geoffrey C. 1997. "Religion and Political Behavior in th

Leal, David L. 2002. "Political Participation by Latino Non-Citizens

Peterson, Steven A. 1992. "Church Participation and Political Participation." American

Schwartz, Joel D. 1984. "Participation and Multisubjective Understanding: An Inter-

Steensland, Brian, Jerry Z. Park, Mark D. Regnerus, Lynn D. Robinson, W. Bradford

Stokes, Atiya Kai. 2003. "Latino Group Consciousness

Taylor, Robert Joseph, Karen D. Lincoln, and Linda M

Tocqueville, Alexis de [1840] 1945. Democracy in Am

Tuntiya, Nana. 2005. "Fundamentalist Religious Affiliat

Uslaner, Eric M. 2002. "Religion and Civic Engagement

Verba, Sidney, Nancy Burns, and Kay Lehman Schlo

Verba, Sidney, and Norman H. Nie. 1972. Participation

Verba, Sidney, Kay Lehman Schlozman, and Henry Bra

Verba, Sidney, Kay Lehman Schlozman, Henry Brady,

Scientific Study of Religion 4l(4):669-84.

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen