Assessing Conventional Wisdom about Religion and Politics: A Preliminary View from the Pews

Abstract

Given religious leaders' frequent opportunities to communicate to a large and receptive audience, political messages delivered during religious services have the potential to make a considerable impact on American politicswith particular significance for political education and mobilization. Social scientists routinely conclude that such messages are indeed disseminated, a claim we test in this study. Is it in fact true that church-and temple-going Americans regularly receive political messages from their ministers, priests, and rabbis during worship services? If so, what forms do these pronouncements take? How intense are they? Is this communication limited to messages from the service leader or does it come from other parts of the service, either informal or ritualistic? Existing empirical assessments of this topic depend heavily on survey research, asking congregants (or, less often, members of the clergy) about the frequency and content of political messages. Although such studies are certainly valuable, we approach religious political communications in a more immediate way: by observing them directly. Our conclusions are based on two waves of attendance at weekly services during 1998-1999, varying by religious tradition and denomination, region, and other dimensions. We find that "political" messages, broadly defined, are indeed delivered quite often. However, content analysis of these messages reveals that they typically address matters of social justice and rarely other types of political activity or belief, such as specific public policies or civic involvement (including voting). Political references during services only very occasionally constituted calls to direct political action on the part of the worshiper. Ultimately, our findings suggest that political content does occur relatively frequently during U.S. religious services, supporting the accounts of other social scientists. Our analysis offers new insight as to the content and nature of the political messages Americans are exposed to during religious services.

From Pews to Participation: The Effect of Congregation Activity and Context on Bridging Civic Engagement

“…This was unexpected for two reasons: First, our empirical results generally showed that congregation activities other than religious service attendance had a much stronger effect on participation in bridging civic organizations than religious service attendance. Second, evangelical Protestant congregations are not more likely than congregations of other religious traditions to supply the two main pathways through which religious service attendance should mobilize bridging civic engagement: sermons on civic engagement or listing opportunities for civic engagement in religious service programs (Brewer et al 2003;Wuthnow 2002). One plausible explanation for this anomaly is that relative to the congregations of the other religious traditions, evangelical Protestant congregations offer more opportunities during religious services for members to participate directly in activities that may promote civic participation.…”

“…First, congregations formally encourage civic action in communities when clergy and other religious leaders of congregations stress the importance of reaching out to those who are in need during sermons, homilies, teachings, or prayers (Brewer, Kersh, and Petersen 2003;Wuthnow 2002Wuthnow , 2004. Importantly, James C. Cavendish (2001) showed how such messages from religious leaders boost feelings of efficacy and raise consciousness among members, which, in turn, increase civic engagement.…”

“…Second, congregations also informally encourage civic involvement through supplying personal friendship networks that provide social incentives to be active (Verba, Schlozman, and Brady 1995). Third, congregations expose people to important information about civic engagement in communities by hosting speakers from social service and community agencies and by including announcements about civic activities in religious service programs (Brewer et al 2003;Chaves 2004;Chaves et al 2002). Fourth, congregations cultivate skills that are transferable to civic efforts outside of congregations since they offer opportunities for members to participate in a range of leadership activities that involve writing letters, planning meetings, giving presentations, and attending meetings where decisions are made (Cavendish 2000;Verba et al 1995).…”

“…3 Compared to the congregations of the other religious traditions, the formal resources and networks of evangelical Protestant congregations are substantially less likely to provide their members with opportunities and encouragements to enter into civic action that serves individuals in the larger community (Ammerman 2002;Brewer et al 2003;Chaves 2004;Chaves et al 2002;Chaves and Tsitsos 2001;Wuthnow 2002Wuthnow , 2004. In addition, the personal networks established in evangelical Protestant congregations should be less likely to facilitate involvement in bridging civic organizations.…”

Priest, parishioner and posterity: A Dutch urban legend or historical fact?

“…Traina (1974) studied the attitudes and behavior of New York State priests regarding abortion using a mail questionnaire as well as content analysis, in-depth interviews of diocesan officials and non-participant observation. Brewer, Kersh and Petersen (2003) made use of small-scale in-depth interviews with laity about the role of the clergy, and systematically observed religious services and non-liturgical announcements to examine the extent to which congregants were exposed to messages encouraging them to engage in anti-abortion rallies. An interesting effort to provide evidence on the changing influence of the clergy on the fertility behavior of their flock can be found in a study by Berman, Iannaccone and Ragusa (2007).…”