Race, Religion, and Obama in Appalachia*

Abstract

Objective. Appalachia-historically a culturally and politically unique region of the United Stateshas been effectively ignored by contemporary political scientists. Using a unique measure of Appalachian residence, this article analyzes racial attitudes, religion, and Appalachian opposition to the 2008 presidential candidacy of Barack Obama. Methods. I use regression analysis to assess the extent to which Appalachian residents differ in their levels of perceived racial favoritism, identification as born-again Christians, and frequency of church attendance, as well as whether these variables can mediate the seeming regional effect of Appalachia in a standard vote choice model. Results. I first demonstrate higher levels of perceived racial favoritism and, especially, higher levels of a particular type of religiosity in the region. I then assess whether these measures can mediate Appalachian distinctiveness in presidential vote choice. When perceived racial favoritism, church attendance, and born-again Christian status are controlled for in regression models, Appalachian regional opposition to the 2008 Obama candidacy disappears statistically. Conclusion. While race and religion both "matter," I find it is religion that seems to matter more in explaining Appalachian distinctiveness, particularly relative to traditional southern distinctiveness. This provides a new vantage point from which to assess southern politics debates about subregional variation and the relative roles of race and religion, as well as sets the foundation for further analyses of Appalachia and American politics.

Health care provider bias in the Appalachian region: The frequency and impact of contraceptive coercion

“…Providers' beliefs and biases about sex, reproduction, and contraception are influenced by social and cultural norms and can result in unjustified restrictions on contraceptive care delivery. 41 In the Appalachian region, where religiosity is high and the Christian faith is often closely tied to daily life, 15 , 42 provider beliefs about contraception for adolescents and unmarried individuals may influence provider provision of contraception, causing them to engage in downward contraceptive coercion.…”

The South in American Political Development

“…Attending to this complexity, and more explicitly grounding national influence in models of regime coordination or representation, would substantially enrich our understanding of the region and its role in American political development. Recent works have made important advances on all these fronts, examining Black political agency (e.g., Johnson 2010, Parker 2009, variation in party organization and representation (Heersink & Jenkins 2020, Olson 2022), alternative substate regions (Hood & McKee 2022, White 2019, or the variety of strands out of which a Republican majority was woven (Maxwell & Shields 2019).…”

“…Scholarship on southern politics also faces the perennial problem of how to conceptualize racism and white supremacy in relation to a changing political economy. Recent works have made important advances on these fronts (e.g., Johnson 2010Johnson , 2017Maxwell & Shields 2019;Reed 2022;Taylor 2018;White 2019) and should provide models for incorporating more of the complexity of southern politics into our analyses.…”

Cumulative disadvantage as a framework for understanding rural tobacco use disparities.

“…Notably, tobacco-related norms may vary across rural regions as well as between rural-residing racial/ethnic groups. For instance, religion is engrained in daily life for many people living in rural Appalachia (White, 2019), though such strong religious ties may not be true of non-Appalachian rural communities. Given such potential cultural differences, community-engagement approaches that include consultation with health care providers, public health agencies, and community members are warranted in the development of programs for reducing positive attitudes surrounding tobacco.…”