Religion’s Retreat from Politics and Other Good News « Ockham's Beard
Putnams argument also espoused in his new book, American Grace was that the close relationship between religiosity and Republican partisanship that we see today only started in the early 1990s, and began as a wedge strategy intended to galvanise a conservative base against encroaching liberalism by appealing to the pervasive religiousness of most Americans, tapping in to socially conservative issues such as abortion as the hot buttons.
And it worked. Putnam showed evidence that around the early 1970s there was no correlation between religious attendance (as a proxy for religiosity) and partisan preference. In fact, in the late 1960s, if you were more highly devout, you were more likely to vote Democrat. But that had all changed by the 1980s, and particularly into the 1990s.
Makes sense. Old school Republicanism used to be represented by the north-eastern industrialists hardly a religious bunch. Too distracted by money and cigars. Conversely, there were the southern Democrats who, until the quakes of the civil rights movement rocked their foundations, were deeply religious but were working class and voted for labour and community issues.
But in the 1990s that changed. And its already beginning to backfire.
And it worked. Putnam showed evidence that around the early 1970s there was no correlation between religious attendance (as a proxy for religiosity) and partisan preference. In fact, in the late 1960s, if you were more highly devout, you were more likely to vote Democrat. But that had all changed by the 1980s, and particularly into the 1990s.
Makes sense. Old school Republicanism used to be represented by the north-eastern industrialists hardly a religious bunch. Too distracted by money and cigars. Conversely, there were the southern Democrats who, until the quakes of the civil rights movement rocked their foundations, were deeply religious but were working class and voted for labour and community issues.
But in the 1990s that changed. And its already beginning to backfire.