From Politics to the Pews: How Partisanship and the Political Environment Shape Religious Identity

by Michele F. Margolis

One of the most substantial divides in American politics is the “God gap.” Religious voters tend to identify with and support the Republican Party, while secular voters generally support the Democratic Party. Conventional wisdom suggests that religious differences between Republicans and Democrats have produced this gap, with voters sorting themselves into the party that best represents their religious views.

Michele F. Margolis offers a bold challenge to the conventional wisdom, arguing that the relationship between religion and politics is far from a one-way street that starts in the church and ends at the ballot box. Margolis contends that political identity has a profound effect on social identity, including religion. Whether a person chooses to identify as religious and the extent of their involvement in a religious community are, in part, a response to political surroundings. In today’s climate of political polarization, partisan actors also help reinforce the relationship between religion and politics, as Democratic and Republican elites stake out divergent positions on moral issues and use religious faith to varying degrees when reaching out to voters.
 

336 pages, Paperback

Published August 17, 2018

Reviews

[Frankie]

REALLY skimmed this

[Jonathan]

In the US, we typically conceptualize the relationship between religion and politics as unidirectional---in that, people of certain religions are more likely to be Democratic or Republican. non-Orthodox Jews, Muslims, UUS, Congregationalists, Muslims, Black Protestants, and the non-religious are overwhelmingly Democratic; white evangelicals and Mormons are overwhelmingly Republican. People who attend religious services regularly (of whatever faith) are also more likely to be Republican, and those who don't attend are more likely to be Democratic.

But what if religiosity is not driving partisan affiliation, but the main dynamic is actually the opposite: that people's religious attendance and affiliation is heavily influenced by their partisan affiliation--i.e., that the partisan affiliation is the driver of religious behavior? Margolis dives into a lot of survey data to show that there is quite a lot of evidence to back this up. The book helps provide a deeper understanding of one of the major facets of American politics.