Culture Wars and Opinion Polarization: The Case of Abortion

Mouw, Ted; Sobel, Michael E.

doi:10.1086/320294

Cited by 148 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Also consistent is the work of Poole and Rosenthal (2000), who documented a growing distance between the political positions of the median Democrat and the median Republican since roughly the middle 1970s. While DiMaggio et al (1996) found no evidence for a growing values divide as of the middle 1990s, analyses of more current trend data by Evans (2003) show growing evidence that "partisan" Americans (those who label themselves as liberals or conservatives) were becoming polarized around moral issues such as abortion, sexuality, school prayer (see also Mouw and Sobel, 2001;Green, 1996;Brooks, 2002;Frank, 2004;and Baldassarri and Gelman, 2008). In 1985, the mean respondent reported that he/she had discussed important matters during the past six months with 2.9 individuals out of a maximum of five.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Segregation in Social Networks Based on Acquaintanceship and Trust

DiPrete

Gelman

McCormick

et al. 2011

American Journal of Sociology

257

154

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the University of Wisconsin, Madison. We thank Richard Breen and the other participants at these seminars, Nan Lin, Howard Aldrich, and also three anonymous AJS reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. Please direct correspondence to Thomas A. DiPrete (tad61@columbia.edu), 601B Knox Hall, Columbia University, 606 W. 122nd St., New York, NY 10027. AbstractUsing data from the 2006 General Social Survey, we compare levels of segregation by race and along other dimensions of potential social cleavage in the contemporary United States.Americans are not as isolated as the most extreme recent estimates suggest. However, hopes that "bridging" social capital is more common in broader acquaintanceship networks than in core networks are not supported by the GSS data. Instead, the entire acquaintanceship network is perceived by Americans to be about as segregated as the much smaller network of close ties. People do not always know the religiosity, political ideology, family behaviors, or socioeconomic status of their acquaintances, but perceived social divisions on these dimensions are high and in some cases rival the extent of racial segregation in acquaintanceship networks.The major challenge to social integration today comes less from the risk of social isolation than from the tendency of many Americans to isolate themselves from others who differ on race, political ideology, level of religiosity, and other salient aspects of social identity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Segregation in Social Networks Based on Acquaintanceship and Trust

DiPrete

Gelman

McCormick

et al. 2011

American Journal of Sociology

257

154

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Despite this trend toward liberalization, abortion remains a polarizing issue (Bolzendahl & Myers, 2004). While there is scholarly debate over whether or not abortion has become an increasingly polarizing issue, resulting in what media have termed "culture wars," (see DiMaggio, Evans & Bryson, 1996;Mouw & Sobel, 2001), there is little evidence of convergence or liberalization in abortion attitudes in recent decades (Bolzendahl & Myers, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in Abortion Attitudes by Race and Gender: A Reassessment Over a Four Decade Period

Carter

Dodge

2009

JSR

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The purpose of this paper is to reassess the interactive impact of race and gender on abortion attitudes over time. Data from the GSS are used to compare shifts in abortion attitudes of White and Black males and females over a four-decade period. Overall results suggest gender to be the stronger predictor of abortion attitudes. While maintaining similar attitudes toward abortion, White and Black males maintain more conservative attitudes than their female counterparts. Looking at trends, however, suggest that considering race and gender alone limits the understanding of abortion attitudes among these social groups. Results by decade reveal great shifts for White females in relation to Black females. White females and White males to a lesser extent initially appear more liberal in their views toward abortion; however, a shift over the decades produces a convergence and then a reversal, where Black females eventually become more liberal in the 1990s. Black males consistently reveal more conservative attitudes over the four-decade period than Black females and that trend appears to be holding. However, most interestingly and an area for further research, results suggest that abortion attitudes may actually be re-converging.

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“…Attitudes toward abortion may be the one exception. Evidence indicates greater polarization here, though this phenomenon peaked in the 1980s, and some analysts using different statistical techniques dispute the ‹nding of polarization (Mouw and Sobel 2001). Evidence also shows increased internal division among both Catholics and mainline Protestants on the abortion question (J. H. Evans 2002).…”

Section: The Culture Warsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Culture wars and enduring American dilemmas

2010

Choice Reviews Online

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In 2008, John McCain, always known as something of a centrist or moderate Republican, picked the governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, as his running mate. The moment he did so, the culture war returned to American politics. Although the economy was entering a tailspin and dangers were prominent around the world, once again we were discussing whether elites had lost touch with the common people by failing to appreciate religion and dismissing people's concerns with morality.The Palin selection raised a larger question: Did we ever have a culture war in the ‹rst place? In this book, Irene Taviss Thomson offers an original and important new way of answering that question. Whether or not a culture war indeed existed out there in Middle America, just about everyone who wrote on the topic agreed that elites themselves were sharply divided between liberal and conservative views of the world. And, the argument went, the raging culture war was especially apparent in the media, whatever was happening in small-town America.Rather than simply assuming the truth of this proposition, Thomson looks at the media-speci‹cally, opinion magazines. Her research challenges the idea that our opinion leaders are engaged in an implacable war with each other. Culture has historically been de‹ned as the common values that bind together a society. Thomson shows that this idea of culture remains very much alive. America remains a nation where agreement is more striking than disagreement. No matter how bitter and polarized our politics can seem, this truth should never be lost, and Thomson provides the evidence needed to back it up. Opinion leaders need to think about their own role in the culture war; Thomson has helped them do it.-alan wolfe Putting Faith in Partnerships: Welfare-to-Work in Four CitiesStephen V. Monsma The New Imperial Presidency: Renewing Presidential Power after Watergate Andrew Rudalevige Self-Financed Candidates in Congressional Elections Culture Wars and Warring about CultureAmerican culture appears to be deeply divided: those who believe there are absolute moral truths contend with those who place moral authority in individual judgment. Armed with these competing visions, "orthodox" versus "progressive" culture warriors clash on issues of abortion, homosexuality, feminism, school prayer, multiculturalism, popular culture, and university curricula. The population is increasingly polarized as a result.The problem with this image is that it is not supported by survey data. This is a description of the Left written by a well-known conservative (Bork 1989, 27).While there are doubtless persons for whom the binary logic of the culture wars is all-important, the elites represented in the pages of these mainstream media-the journalists and intellectuals, feminists and "family values" advocates alike-instead re›ect shared cultural patterns. These discussions take place within the context of enduring American dilemmas-about the role of religion in politics and society, the tension between morality and pragmatism, how much indiv...

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Culture Wars and Opinion Polarization: The Case of Abortion

Cited by 148 publications

References 17 publications

Segregation in Social Networks Based on Acquaintanceship and Trust

Segregation in Social Networks Based on Acquaintanceship and Trust

Trends in Abortion Attitudes by Race and Gender: A Reassessment Over a Four Decade Period

Culture wars and enduring American dilemmas

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