Do evangelicals use a different political calculus than non-evangelicals in determining which political candidates to support this election season? [Read more…] about Are evangelicals motivated by the same political issues as everybody else?
Political Science
The Myth of Evangelicals’ Political Apathy
Do evangelicals care about and participate in politics? While research firms, Christian leaders and presidential candidates portray American evangelicals as politically disengaged citizens who too often stay home instead of voting, claims of evangelicals’ political apathy are overstated.
Using data from the nationally representative survey 2016 National Election Study, I find self-identified evangelicals and weekly churchgoers vote more and are more politically active than non-evangelicals and infrequent churchgoers. (For details on the survey and the analyses below, please refer to the accompanying online appendix.) [Read more…] about The Myth of Evangelicals’ Political Apathy
Evangelical (Re)engagement of politics
Part of the ritual of the modern presidential election season is a vigorous debate about religion and politics, especially evangelicals and politics. This year is no exception. [Read more…] about Evangelical (Re)engagement of politics
The Myth of the Evangelical Voter
Editor’s note: We’re delighted to welcome Joshua Wu as he starts a new series using data snapshots of evangelicals to frame conversations about the intersection of faith with our public social and political lives. Stay tuned for more soon.
During this election season, hardly a day goes by without candidates citing Bible verses, touting their religious beliefs, and jostling to be America’s pastor-in-chief. Regardless if public religious fervor reflects a genuine personal faith, it is undeniable that candidates strategically and intentionally test the elasticity and compatibility of biblical doctrine with their political agendas to try and gain the support of evangelical voters.
But who is the “evangelical voter”? Do evangelicals have unique political attitudes and preferences? And are evangelicals homogenous enough to be grouped as a coherent voting bloc? [Read more…] about The Myth of the Evangelical Voter
Faithful Is Successful Interview: David E. Lewis
ESN continues its series of interviews with authors of Faithful Is Successful.You can read Bethany Bowen-Wefuan’s post on David’s Faithful Is Successful essay here. David E. Lewis is the William R. Kenan, Jr. professor of political science at Vanderbilt University. His research interests include the presidency, executive branch politics and public administration. He is the author of two books, Presidents and the Politics of Agency Design (Stanford University Press, 2003) and The Politics of Presidential Appointments: Political Control and Bureaucratic Performance (Princeton University Press, 2008), and numerous articles on American politics, public administration and management. David and his family attend the Village Chapel in historic Hillsboro Village in Nashville, Tennessee.
1. ESN: You mention at the beginning of your essay that when you started down the path to becoming a professor at a research university, you didn’t know any Christian professors. How did you find role models/mentors over time, and what advice would you give to Christian scholars looking for mentoring? [Read more…] about Faithful Is Successful Interview: David E. Lewis