James L . Guth
Furman University, Politics and International Affairs, Faculty Member
- B.S. University of Wisconsin-Madison; Ph.D. Harvard Universityedit
... I became convinced that religion was a legitimate object of study for political scientists, whatever the discipline as a whole might think. John Green. Given my background, it is remarkable that I would be interested in religion as a... more
... I became convinced that religion was a legitimate object of study for political scientists, whatever the discipline as a whole might think. John Green. Given my background, it is remarkable that I would be interested in religion as a subject of scholarly study. ...
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ABSTRACT Theories of European integration do not adequately account for the role of culture in the shaping of the integration process. This paper develops a cultural theory of European integration drawing heavily on the works of Karl W.... more
ABSTRACT Theories of European integration do not adequately account for the role of culture in the shaping of the integration process. This paper develops a cultural theory of European integration drawing heavily on the works of Karl W. Deutsch, Alexis de Tocqueville, Max Weber and Michael Walzer. Deutsch alerts us to the need for a sense of community among integrating states. Tocqueville, Weber and Walzer suggest that 1) the keys to the present are found in the distant past, 2) religious ideas shape thought and action, 3) religion continues to shape culture long after religious zeal, or even belief fades, 4) cultures vary over time, between countries and within countries, and 5) culture is not the only variable that matters. We employ this methodology to derive propositions and testable hypotheses that help explain the religious divide in the European Union.
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Scholars of American electoral politics have documented the recent partisan realignment of religious groups. Indeed, careful analysts often find that religious variables are better predictors of partisan choice than classic socioeconomic... more
Scholars of American electoral politics have documented the recent partisan realignment of religious groups. Indeed, careful analysts often find that religious variables are better predictors of partisan choice than classic socioeconomic divisions. Still, there has been relatively little effort to put this religious realignment in both theoretical and historical perspective. In this article, we update our previous work on the historical evolution of religious partisanship, demonstrating the continued relevance of ethnocultural (or ethnoreligious) theory, utilized by political historians, and restructuring theory, an important sociological perspective. Both viewpoints help us understand presidential elections since the 1930s, as we demonstrate with data from a wide range of surveys. After utilizing the 2020 Cooperative Election Study to examine the contemporary voting of ethnoreligious groups in greater detail, we test the impact of religious variables controlling for other demographic, attitudinal, and partisan influences and find that religious identities and orientations often retain independent influence even under stringent controls for other factors shaping the presidential vote.
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... Publi_c Pj^iblrns nr d t'o I ic U^M : 9 7"i (Chi r : igo : F arm " i M ... During the Nixon-Ford years, the Cost of Living Council under John Dunlop, the Antitrust Divi-sion of the Justice Department, the... more
... Publi_c Pj^iblrns nr d t'o I ic U^M : 9 7"i (Chi r : igo : F arm " i M ... During the Nixon-Ford years, the Cost of Living Council under John Dunlop, the Antitrust Divi-sion of the Justice Department, the ... More recent evenbs , however , ] ndi cate conside able aubgovernirent resilience. ...
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FN EW events surprised observers of American politics as much as the recent increase in religiously based conflict in American politics (Wald 1987: 6-12). The decade-long rise of the Christian Right is a case in point: dominant theories... more
FN EW events surprised observers of American politics as much as the recent increase in religiously based conflict in American politics (Wald 1987: 6-12). The decade-long rise of the Christian Right is a case in point: dominant theories of modern politics predicted the decline of religion in public life (Guth et al. 1988). Equally troubling, if less commented upon, was the surge of left-wing church activism in the 1960s and its revival in the Reagan era on such issues as disarmament, sanctuary and aid for the homeless. And secular activists, in organizations such as the ACLU and People for the American Way, entered politics with hostility toward religious values. Robert McAfee Brown's Theology in a New Key (1978) symbolizes well this religio-political foment. His demand that churches become more responsive to political concerns anticipated a "new key" in politics as well-though not entirely in tune with his expectations. Explanations of the link between religion and politics frequently emphasize the role of elites in linking religious communities and commitments to political alignments (Ammerman 1987). Here we report on this connection for an increasingly important set of political activists: major financial donors to national party and political action committees. While donors may not fully represent all kinds of activists, campaign contributors are an active, influential and diverse set of political elites (Jones and Miller 1985) and one central to recent trends in national politics (Sorauf 1988). Instead of a recent "revival" of religion in politics, we find that a "reformation" of the political spectrum has been taking place among activists, with the traditional ethnocultural connection of religion and politics shifting to a secular-versus-religious underpinning for political alignments. These changes are best accounted for by demographic factors rather than the mobilization of new activists or new methods of
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Although there has been a surge of scholarship on the role of religion in American electoral politics, there has been much less analysis of its influence over the behaviour of public officials, such as national legislators. In this study,... more
Although there has been a surge of scholarship on the role of religion in American electoral politics, there has been much less analysis of its influence over the behaviour of public officials, such as national legislators. In this study, I review the literature on religion in the Congress, noting the limitations of that research, primarily its failure to measure adequately the religious affiliations, activities and beliefs of members. I then outline an alternative approach that promises a fuller assessment, showing how both ethnoreligious affiliation and theological perspectives have influenced legislative voting since the 1950s. Ethnocultural affiliation was the most powerful influence until the 1990s, but has recently been overlain by deepening ‘culture war’ divisions. The study concludes with a stringent multivariate analysis that controls for important variables typically included in legislative roll call analysis, showing that many religious measures survive those controls.
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Race and the Power of Sermons on American Politics. By R. Khari Brown, Ronald E. Brown, and James S. Jackson. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 2021. xii+167 pp. $70.00 cloth.; Decoding the Digital Church: Evangelical Storytelling and the Election of Donald J. Trump. By Stephanie A. Martin...more
Despite the growing flight of Americans from religious institutions, these are still the largest voluntary organizations in the United States and they remain significant forces in American politics. As leaders of these organizations,... more
Despite the growing flight of Americans from religious institutions, these are still the largest voluntary organizations in the United States and they remain significant forces in American politics. As leaders of these organizations, clergy are often visible and influential political figures. In just the past few years, conservative Protestant pastors were frequent visitors to the Trump White House and played a crucial role in mobilizing a large Republican religious constituency. Black Protestant ministers have long been a vital force in Democratic circles and are joined at times by white liberal colleagues, as evidenced by the recent mobilization to preserve abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
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Catholics have long been an important force in American electoral politics, but the direction of that influence has changed in recent decades. Once a mainstay of the New Deal coalition, the community's political loyalties have shifted... more
Catholics have long been an important force in American electoral politics, but the direction of that influence has changed in recent decades. Once a mainstay of the New Deal coalition, the community's political loyalties have shifted away from the Democrats to a virtual partisan equilibrium, with white Catholics drifting to the Republican camp and the growing number of Latino and other "new ethnics" providing Democratic votes. Here we examine the demographic structure of Catholic partisanship, testing four perspectives used by Shafer and Spady to identify the social underpinnings of partisan orientations, perspectives which also characterize the literature on Catholic alignments. These alternative views stress (1) social class and education; (2) racial and ethnic influences; 3) "domestic roles," such as gender, sexuality, family structure, and residence; and, finally (4) religious cleavages. We find that ethnic divisions contribute massively to contemporary Catholic partisanship, but that socioeconomic influences have faded dramatically. Religious factors, especially theological views, have become much more salient. We also discover that socioeconomic status is more influential for Latinos, while religion matters more for white Catholics. Finally, we show that conclusions drawn about the structure of Catholic partisanship depend in part on the survey used and the specific measures available.
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The Reformation still shapes European society—and its most important post-war creation, the European Union. This chapter explores how Protestantism fractured Western Christendom, sacralized national identity, and invented the nation-state... more
The Reformation still shapes European society—and its most important post-war creation, the European Union. This chapter explores how Protestantism fractured Western Christendom, sacralized national identity, and invented the nation-state as an alternative Christian society. In the process, Protestants fostered a profound antipathy to the Catholic ‘other’ and a powerful affinity for national borders making it difficult to imagine joining a federal Europe. They were reluctant to enter the EU and awkward on arrival. Protestants never caught the vision of a united Europe, nor did the continentals grasp how Protestant national identities would resist any sacrifice of sovereignty. This clash of irreconcilable visions—one Catholic, one Protestant—became an obstacle to post-war efforts to unite Europe and has led to enduring differences in the behaviour of states, elites, churches, political parties, interest groups, and public opinion towards integration and European identity.
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Scholars of American electoral politics have documented the recent partisan realignment of religious groups. Indeed, careful analysts often find that religious variables are better predictors of partisan choice than classic socioeconomic... more
Scholars of American electoral politics have documented the recent partisan realignment of religious groups. Indeed, careful analysts often find that religious variables are better predictors of partisan choice than classic socioeconomic divisions. Still, there has been relatively little effort to put this religious realignment in both theoretical and historical perspective. In this article, we update our previous work on the historical evolution of religious partisanship, demonstrating the continued relevance of ethnocultural (or ethnoreligious) theory, utilized by political historians, and restructuring theory, an important sociological perspective. Both viewpoints help us understand presidential elections since the 1930s, as we demonstrate with data from a wide range of surveys. After utilizing the 2020 Cooperative Election Study to examine the contemporary voting of ethnoreligious groups in greater detail, we test the impact of religious variables controlling for other demograph...
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Milk has always been one of the most "political" commodities produced by American farmers. The dairy industry's size, contribution to the American diet, and unique marketing problems have led to an "exquisitely... more
Milk has always been one of the most "political" commodities produced by American farmers. The dairy industry's size, contribution to the American diet, and unique marketing problems have led to an "exquisitely complicated" system of regulation.l Since the 1930s, federal dairy policy has usually been set within a classic "subgovemment", including producer groups such as the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), the House and Senate Agriculture committees, and the USDA marketing authorities. Ripley and Franklin have identified this system as one which illustrates "the long-term entrenchment of subgovernments in the agricultural policy area. 112 This paper traces the evolution of the dairy subgovernment since 1933, with specific emphasis on (1) pattern of interaction among industry grps, regulatory officials, and the· Congress, and (2) the mechanisms through which the more diffuse interests of consumers have been represented in policy decisi...
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Given their strategic position within American society, clergy continue to remain important actors in American politics. This article examines the partisan identifications and electoral behavior of American Protestant clergy in the 2016... more
Given their strategic position within American society, clergy continue to remain important actors in American politics. This article examines the partisan identifications and electoral behavior of American Protestant clergy in the 2016 presidential election. Although clergy partisanship may be of interest in any election, the 2016 contest, given the milieu of political polarization and the presence of the Trump candidacy, provides an intriguing context for assessing the profession's electoral behavior, particularly among Republican clergy. Based on survey results from over 2,500 clergy drawn from ten Protestant (five mainline and five evangelical) denominations, the study finds that, during the early stages of the 2016 nomination process, only a small percentage of Republican clergy supported Trump and that, despite the high level of political polarization, a sizable segment of Republican clergy resisted partisan pressures and refused to vote for Trump in the general election. ...
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The book presents a broad international and interdisciplinary perspective on the role of religion in American politics (both domestic and international). It is a result of cooperation between Jagiellonian University scholars and an... more
The book presents a broad international and interdisciplinary perspective on the role of religion in American politics (both domestic and international). It is a result of cooperation between Jagiellonian University scholars and an international group of academics, including renowned American specialists, who study the intersection between religion and American politics. Coming not only from the USA, but also from Israel, Spain, Hungary, Poland and the Palestinian territories, the authors provide a unique international perspective on how the USA deals with issues on the intersection of religion and politics and how it is perceived around the world. The contributors are: Elad Ben David, Emily R. Gill, James L. Guth, Jajuan S. Johnson, Lyman A. Kellstedt, Sebastian Kubas, Michael McLaughlin, Husam Mohamad, Paulina Napierała, Brent F. Nelsen, Karoly Pinter, Cristobal Serran-Pagan y Fuentes, and Jerold Waltman.