Does Morality Policy Exist? Testing a Basic Assumption

Abstract

Does morality policy exist? A growing body of scholarship has examined the ways that the politics of so‐called “morality policy” (e.g., abortion regulation, same‐sex marriage policy, and capital punishment) differ from the politics of other types of policy. In this literature, morality policies are assumed to be distinctive in that they generate conflicts of basic moral values, do not lend themselves to compromise, and are widely salient and technically simple. Using an email survey of morality policy scholars and a telephone survey of just over seven hundred Illinois residents in 2005, we test this assumption. We find that citizen responses about these policies vary along three of these four characteristics, just as morality policy scholars predicted. Thus, morality policies do exist, as assumed by these scholars. Our analysis also suggests some potentially fruitful avenues for future research on morality policy and other policy typologies.

Measuring and Evaluating Changes in State Opinion Across Eight Issues

“…Morality policies have several distinct characteristics. They are relatively easy for the majority of citizens to understand, salient to the public, and are characterized by strong moral reactions from citizens (e.g., Mooney & Schuldt, 2008). Given these characteristics, scholars have sought to explain policy differences-often focusing on public opinion-across the states.…”

Toward the permissive society? Morality policy agendas and policy directions in Western democracies

“…There has been considerable debate about whether morality policy exists as a discernible category of policy, and if so, how to identify it (Smith 1969;1975;Tatalovich and Daynes 2011;Wald et al 2001;Mooney and Schuldt 2008;Roh and Berry 2008;Studlar 2008;Mucciaroni 2011;Knill 2013;Ryan 2014). The prevalent tendency in previous research, especially in the U.S. (Donovan et al 2015), is to argue that morality policy is defined by process as well as by content.…”

Institutional opportunity structures and the Catholic Church: explaining variation in the regulation of same-sex partnerships in Ireland and Italy

“…In recent years, however, the potential effects of religion on public policy outputs have been increasingly debated in the literature. This holds true in particular for socalled morality policies; by virtue of their subject areas, these policies are closely related to societal value conflicts, and therefore also to conflicts between religious and secular values (Asal et al 2013;Engeli et al 2012a;Fink 2008;Knill 2013;Mooney 1999;Mooney and Schuldt 2008).…”