… The lack of scholarly consensus on mass-level religious polarization is, at least in part, a product of poor measures of issue polarization. In our recent and upcoming research to be published in Political Behavior, we introduce a new way of measuring issue polarization and then analyze how religious identities […] Read more »
How Is The GOP Adjusting To A Less Religious America?
… Over the last decade, the share of Republicans who are church members fell from 75% to 65%, according to Gallup. That’s a solid majority but also a sizable fall. The key bloc of white evangelicals is also shrinking as a share of the population, while the share of religiously […] Read more »
What the Public Thinks About Major Supreme Court Cases This Term
The arrival this term of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald J. Trump’s third appointee, has transformed a Supreme Court with a slight conservative majority into one that tilted right by a 6-to-3 margin. Justice Barrett has also left Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. with a sharply diminished ability […] Read more »
Americans’ Religion and Their Sympathies in the Middle East
Why are we interested in American public opinion about the Middle East situation? There is, of course, the general objective of better understanding our society and the attitudes of its people, which — as a social scientist — I heartily endorse. But there are also practical implications, given the connection […] Read more »
Understanding QAnon’s Connection to American Politics, Religion, and Media Consumption
The far-right conspiracy theory movement known as QAnon emerged on the internet in late 2017 and gained traction throughout former president Donald Trump’s time in office. QAnon’s core theory revolves around Satan-worshipping pedophiles plotting against Trump and a coming “storm” that would clear out those evil forces, but the movement […] Read more »
The abortion fault line is about to start rumbling
One of the original culture war conflicts may be poised for a resurgence — with potentially explosive political consequences. The Supreme Court’s recent decision to consider the legality of Mississippi’s restrictive law prohibiting abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy could trigger the most serious and sustained political debate over the […] Read more »