RELIGION AND POLITICS

In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 332, p. 101-111

Abstract

The controversy over mixing religion & politics has not kept religion apart from Gov. Religious groups participate in a wide variety of pol'al activities. But religious groups in the US are not organized as pol'al parties or machines. There is a relation between religious affiliation & party affiliation. The correlation, however, does not usually indicate a 'religious' vote. In part, the relation reflects SES. For Catholics & Jews it is very much a result of awareness of minority status. As minority awareness declines, trends in voting change. There is no pattern of voting for or against candidates because of their religion. The importance of religion in a presidential election cannot be assessed on the basis of other elections. The election of a Catholic president would not change the nature of our Gov, but it would have an effect on US politics. AA.