Political Cohesion in Churches

Wald, Kenneth D.; Owen, Dennis E.; Hill, Samuel S.

doi:10.2307/2131425

Cited by 110 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The extent to which the social context provides a means for political dialogue has also received considerable attention over the last decade (Cramer-Walsh 2004;Huckfeldt and Sprague 1995;Huckfeldt et al 1993;Huckfeldt et al 2004;Mutz 2006;Mutz and Mondak 2006;McClurg 2006;Wald et al 1988Wald et al , 1990 to name a few). The findings collectively suggest that social communication and political discourse play a significant role in American politics; from exposing individuals to opposing viewpoints, to assisting in political decision making and even increasing participation.…”

Section: Political Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The literature has provided numerous examples of the effects of demographics such as education, income, age, and race on political participation. Recent studies have also considered the impact of contextual variables such as organization membership (Putnam 1993(Putnam , 1995, and interaction within neighborhoods, churches, (Huckfeldt and Sprague 1995;Wald et al 1988Wald et al , 1990, and workplaces Mutz 2002, 2001;Mutz and Mondak 2006) on political participation and decisionmaking. Collectively, the findings suggest that context matters.…”

Section: Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Beyond Membership: A Sense of Community and Political Behavior

Anderson

2009

Polit Behav

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Why does community matter for political participation? In this paper, I consider how community psychology, particularly ''sense of community'' can be used to address questions of political behavior. Individuals' perceptions about their significance in a given community can have meaningful effects on the way in which communities influence politics. Using a unique survey instrument designed to capture individual's perceptions of community connectedness and political behavior across five contexts (workplace, church, associations, neighborhood, and circle of friends (i.e., an informal network) I analyze data from 822 respondents and examine how sense of community influences two types of political behavior: voting in local elections and political discussion. The empirical analyses presented demonstrate that sense of community contributes to explaining voting and discussion, even after controlling for demographic, personality, and other political factors.Keywords Political psychology Á Sense of community Á Political behavior Á Contexts A long time ago I was in the ancient city of Prague and at the same time Joseph Alsop, the justly famous critic of places and events was there…Joe and I flew home to America in the same plane, and on the way he told me about Prague, and his Prague had no relation to the city I had seen and heard. It just wasn't the same place, and yet each of us was honest, neither one a liar, both pretty good observers by any standard, and we brought home two cities, two truths-John Steinbeck

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Section: Political Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Membership: A Sense of Community and Political Behavior

Anderson

2009

Polit Behav

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“…While the current research reveals unequal access to civic-skill education in churches, it is possible that this level of stratification is far less than that found in other civicskill education contexts. Fourth, congregational studies suggest that messages from the pulpit and the influence of fellow church members can greatly affect one's political behavior (e.g., Jelen 1993;Wald et al 1990). Perhaps this is the real promise of the churches, that the influence of clergy and fellow parishioners can persuade people politically rather than teaching them skills that educational institutions often fail to impart.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4 Previous research shows congregations to be an important aspect in studies that examine religion and politics (e.g., Gilbert 1993;Jelen 1993;Wald et al 1990). The congregational context is especially important when examining membership in church organizations and committees.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the Promise of the Churches: Income Inequality in the Opportunity to Learn Civic Skills in Christian Congregations

Schwadel

2002

Scientific Study of Religion

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Political researchers point to church activities as a major avenue for lower–class individuals to learn the civic skills necessary for many forms of political participation, the skills that higher–status individuals learn through education and occupation. This article tests this theory through multilevel analyses of the effects of both individual income and average congregational income on three measures of participation in church activities and organizations that offer participants the opportunity to learn and exercise civic skills. The results show that churches are only slightly stratified when it comes to members’ participation in charity, public policy, or social justice organizations within the church, suggesting that they offer some promise to teach civic skills to the lower–income members. Nevertheless, churches are moderately stratified in terms of members’ participation in administration, finance, or buildings organizations within the church, and strongly stratified in organizations in general within the church, suggesting that higher–income members receive the majority of civic–skill practice and training in Christian congregations in the United States.

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“…We wish to explore the internal mechanisms within a religious community that generate solidarity (Wald, Owen, and Hill 1990). That solidarity will depend on how the wider community treats that religious group, how the religious group perceives and interacts with the wider community, mechanisms inside the religious group to maintain commitment, and organizations within the religious community that can rally support.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mobilization of Elite Opinion: Rabbi Perceptions of and Responses to Anti‐Semitism

Djupe¹,

Sokhey²

2003

Scientific Study of Religion

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One of the persistent problems facing the Jewish community is anti-Semitism, which has a long, tragic history in the United States and abroad. At the same time, anti-Semitic acts are probably at their lowest ebb in American history. Using a sample of more than 400 rabbis drawn from the four great movements of American Judaism, we investigate rabbi perceptions of anti-Semitism in the United States, as well as their attitudinal and behavioral reactions to it. We test and find evidence for the notions that Orthodox rabbis, as well as those connected to and mobilized by Jewish advocacy organizations, perceive anti-Semitism as a greater problem and concern themselves with the issue more often in their public speech.

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Political Cohesion in Churches

Cited by 110 publications

References 18 publications

Beyond Membership: A Sense of Community and Political Behavior

Beyond Membership: A Sense of Community and Political Behavior

Testing the Promise of the Churches: Income Inequality in the Opportunity to Learn Civic Skills in Christian Congregations

The Mobilization of Elite Opinion: Rabbi Perceptions of and Responses to Anti‐Semitism

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