House Divided? Evangelical Catholics, Mainstream Catholics, and Attitudes toward Immigration and Life Policies

Abstract

This article seeks to contribute to the scholarly understanding of both Catholicism and Latino religious beliefs. Our approach is to look within the Catholic category to test whether differing theological approaches have political implications. Using a recent Texas survey with a range of religious questions and an oversample of Latino respondents, we test whether intra-Catholic religious orientations help to structure attitudes toward immigration and life policies for Latinos and Anglos. For each group, we compare two kinds of Catholics – “Evangelical Catholics” (those who report evangelical-charismatic-literalist beliefs) and “Mainstream Catholics” (those who do not). This builds on McDaniel and Ellison’s findings by asking whether ostensibly similar religious beliefs may have different effects by race and ethnicity. Our aggregate data provide some evidence that intra-Catholic differences can influence policy opinions, and that race-ethnicity can play a mediating role.

Coping with Cross‐Pressures: The Seamless Garment in Catholic Political Behavior

“…Likewise, levels of concern about climate change polarized more along liberal-conservative lines among Catholics aware of Pope Francis's Laudato si' encyclical than among those unaware of the encyclical (Li et al, 2016). On a related note, Catholics who identify as evangelical or "born-again" attach greater importance to religion and have more conservative views on cultural issues than do other Catholics (Leal & Patterson, 2013;Welch & Leege, 1991).…”

“…Hofstetter et al (2008) show that in 2004, exposure to a Church Doctrinal Note mandating opposition to candidates who oppose Church positions increased support for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, a pro‐choice Catholic, among self‐identified religiously “liberal Catholics” and decreased support for Kerry among self‐identified “conservative Catholics.” Likewise, levels of concern about climate change polarized more along liberal‐conservative lines among Catholics aware of Pope Francis's Laudato si' encyclical than among those unaware of the encyclical (Li et al, 2016). On a related note, Catholics who identify as evangelical or “born‐again” attach greater importance to religion and have more conservative views on cultural issues than do other Catholics (Leal & Patterson, 2013; Welch & Leege, 1991).…”