Democrat, Republican, or None of the Above? The Role of Religiosity in Muslim American Party Identification

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt A. Barreto ◽  
Dino N. Bozonelos
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
The United States ◽  
Muslim Americans ◽  
Muslim American ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Partisan Identification ◽  
American Party

AbstractThe role of religiosity as an important predictor of partisan identification has been well researched over the years, with most of our understanding of religion focused on Christianity. However, it is not clear that religiosity operates equally for the partisan identification of non-Christian religious groups. One of the most discussed religious minority groups in the United States today is Muslim-Americans. Numbering between 2.3 million and 7 million, Muslim-Americans have been the focus of considerable debate regarding religion and American political inclusion. We argue that religiosity does influence Muslim-American party identification, however not in the same manner as with other groups. While the two major political parties encourage religiosity among Protestants, Jews, and Catholics, they are either silent or opposed to religiosity among Muslims within their parties. Thus, religiosity among Muslim-Americans may not necessarily lead to partisan identification with either Republicans or Democrats. Rather, high levels of religiosity, coupled with perceptions of discrimination against Muslims, may lead many to oppose both major political parties and instead identify with “none of the above.” This is not to say that Muslim-Americans reject civic engagement or political participation in the United States, but rather the two political parties have not carved out a space to welcome Islam, as they have for Christianity and Judaism. We examine new data from the 2007 Muslim-American Public Opinion Survey to assess the predictors of partisan identification among Muslims in the United States.

scholarly journals Vote intent and beliefs about democracy in the United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kris Dunn ◽  
Judd R Thornton
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
The United States ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Form Of Government ◽  
Party Support ◽  
Severe Punishment

Democracy is an abstract and murky concept. This is particularly apparent in the wide variety of beliefs about democracy held by publics around the globe. Within democracies, political parties often define and name themselves with reference to a particular understanding of democracy. This article focuses on this partisan division in understanding democracy. We suggest that parties will attract those who share similar beliefs about democracy. Specifically, we look at whether differences in beliefs about democracy predict party support in the United States. Examining the responses of US participants to the fifth wave of the World Values Survey, we find that differences on a number of “essential” aspects of democracy among individuals predict vote intent (and party identification). Those more likely to understand democracy as a form of government that promotes civil liberties and the redistribution of wealth to protect the vulnerable are more likely to vote Democrat. Those who report stronger associations between democracy and both religious interpretation of laws and severe punishment of criminals are more likely to vote Republican. This research reinforces the idea that policy differences between the two main parties in the United States may derive from different understandings of the role of government in society.

The Role of Congress in the Development of a Responsible American Policy Toward Angola

1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 18-21
Author(s):  
Gerald J. Bender
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
The United States ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Commission Report ◽  
American Policy

In addition to our discussions today of the current situation in Angola, I would like to direct my remarks to the question of what role, if any, the United States should play with regard to Angola, and concretely, how the Congress can assist in the formulation and execution of a responsible American policy toward Angola. We have all learned a number of important lessons from recent revelations about the conduct of American policy in Southeast Asia, about Government coverups such as Watergate, corporate bribery of foreign officials and political parties, and about the illegal and unacceptable activities of the CIA as described in the Rockefeller Commission report and elsewhere. Certainly we can apply some of these lessons to our present consideration of U.S. policy toward Angola; hopefully we will learn the vital facts and ask the necessary questions now, rather than, as has too often been the case, after the fact.

Veiled Politics: Experiences with Discrimination among Muslim Americans

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 629-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karam Dana ◽  
Nazita Lajevardi ◽  
Kassra A.R. Oskooii ◽  
Hannah L. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Discrimination ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Anecdotal Evidence ◽  
Muslim Americans ◽  
Muslim American ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Institutional Discrimination ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Muslim American Women

AbstractAnecdotal evidence suggests that Muslim American women who wear the hijab may be particularly vulnerable to the experiences of stigmatization because the hijab represents one of the most obvious and dominant markers of “otherness.” Yet, extant research has surprisingly neglected to systematically examine how such external markers of difference can increase perceptions of discrimination. Drawing from two nationally representative datasets, we examine perceived discrimination among Muslim Americans, and find that veiled women report experiencing both societal and institutional discrimination at much higher rates than their counterparts. In fact, our findings show that the hijab is one of the most important predictors of self-reported discrimination amongallMuslim Americans. Interestingly, however, we also find that men are more likely than women to perceive discrimination once we account for the role of the hijab. Our analysis makes an important contribution to existing research by highlighting the unique experiences of a religious minority group and identifies one important and previously underexplored mechanism by which individuals may be targeted for discrimination—the hijab.

The Future of the American Party System

1982 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-50
Author(s):  
C. Edwin Gilmour
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Party System ◽  
Contemporary Literature ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
American Party ◽  
Personal Assessment ◽  
Future Status

A central theme of contemporary literature on American political parties—a theme with a broad consensus that is uncommon in the discipline—is that the party system of the United States is in transition due to significant changes within the past two decades that distinguish the operation of today's party system from what it was before 1960. However, consensus is lacking as to the implications of these changes for the future status of the American party system. This paper has four broad objectives: 1. to review briefly the phenomenon of party re-alignment in American history as a useful perspective on the present party era; 2. to identify and discuss significant alterations in the party system since 1960 ; 3. to note various scenarios in the literature concerning the future of the parly system in ‘the United States and 4. to hazard a personal assessment of the scenarios as to their plausibility and probability.

The Political Incorporation of Muslims in the United States: The Mobilizing Role of Religiosity in Islam

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karam Dana ◽  
Bryan Wilcox-Archuleta ◽  
Matt Barreto
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Incorporation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Muslim Americans ◽  
Is Research ◽  
Overwhelming Evidence

AbstractDespite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, popular perceptions in the United States, especially among political elites, continue to believe that religious Muslims oppose American democratic traditions and values. While many studies find positive relationships between mosque attendance and civic participation among U.S. Muslims, an empirical and theoretical puzzle continues to exist. What is missing is research that examines the relationships between the multi-dimensional concept of religiosity and how this is associated with public opinion and attitudes towards the American political system among Muslim Americans. Using a unique national survey of Muslim Americans, we find a positive relationship between religious beliefs, behavior, and belonging and perceptions of compatibility with American democratic traditions. Quite simply, the most religious are the most likely to believe in political integration in the United States.

The Whigs' America

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph W. Pearson ◽  
Dick Gilbreath
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
The United States ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Collaborative Effort ◽  
Vast Array ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
The Past ◽  
Role Of The State

This book is about politics, exploring the general outlook of a group of Americans called Whigs. The Whigs were one of the two great political parties in the United States between the years 1834 and 1856, battling their opponents the Jacksonian Democrats for offices, prestige, and power. This book explores how Whiggish Americans understood human nature, society, and the role of the state, and explains how they reflected on the past and anticipated the future. A Whig worldview resonated with a vast array of future-looking people in large cities and small villages, in factories and on farms, and in the varied state houses across the country, as well as the in halls of Congress. The Whig Promise attracted those Americans seeking middle-class achievement, community, and meaning through collaborative effort and self-control in a world growing more and more impersonal.

Gender and Elections

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Voter Participation ◽  
Depth Analysis

The fifth edition of Gender and Elections offers a lively, multi-faceted account of the role of gender in the electoral process through the 2020 elections. This timely yet enduring volume strikes a balance between highlighting the most important developments for women as voters and candidates in the 2020 elections and providing an in-depth analysis of the ways that gender has helped shape the contours and outcomes of electoral politics in the United States. Individual chapters demonstrate the importance of gender in understanding presidential, congressional, and state elections; voter participation, turnout, and choices; participation of African American women and Latinas; support of political parties and women's organizations; and candidate communication. New chapters explore the role of social movements in elections and introduce concepts of gendered and raced institutions, intersectionality, and identity politics applied to presidential elections from past to present. The resulting volume is the most comprehensive and reliable resource on the role of gender in electoral politics.

Comment on Reiter

1985 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 418-419
Author(s):  
Nelson W. Polsby
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
The United States ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Secular Trends ◽  
Recent History ◽  
History Of ◽  
American Party ◽  
Presidential Nominations

I am sure that all of us who have been attempting to make sense of American party politics these last couple of decades welcome Professor Reiter's contribution, and look forward to the publication of his book. As I understand the argument he is making, at least four positions are possible with respect to the recent history of political parties and Presidential nominations in the United States: (1) that no changes have occurred; (2) that long-term secular trends account for all changes; (3) that party reforms account for all changes; and (4) that a combination of longer-term trends and party reforms account for changes. Perhaps in order to hold the attention of readers, Professor Reiter has chosen to contrast positions (2) and (3).

The 1938 Elections and the American Party System

1939 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-211
Author(s):  
F. A. Hermas
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Party System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Party Organization ◽  
Modern Democracy ◽  
The Past ◽  
Constructive Work ◽  
The Government ◽  
American Party

Political parties have been subjected to more vigorous criticism than any other institution of modern democracy. It is charged that their divisions split a country artificially. It is further contended that the line-up into the two camps of government and opposition makes it impossible for a country to avail itself of all its political talent, since those belonging to the opposition party are, temporarily at least, unavailable for constructive work, and are instead making every effort to obstruct the government in power. In the United States the point has frequently been made that the two major parties are no longer justified because neither of them contains anything which it could consider characteristic of itself. “The party term Republican isn't definitive any more. It isn't even descriptive. No more so is the party term Democrat. They are labels on empty bottles, signs on untenanted houses, cloaks that cover but do not conceal the skeletons beneath them.” More recently a similar charge has been made by Dr. Mortimer Adler, a writer who brilliantly combines his analysis of the present with a knowledge of the past. He directs attention to the fact that parties, instead of responding to issues, tend to create them. According to Dr. Adler, parties would be justified if they served only the purpose for which they have been created and then dissolved; of course, in reality, they perpetuate their existence. On somewhat similar lines the famous biographer of the modern party organization, Ostrogorski, proceeded from theoretical criticism to practical suggestions. His plan was to replace existing parties by “leagues,” which were to respond to one issue only, and be dissolved as soon as that issue should be settled.

Perceptions of Threat to Religious Liberty

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (03) ◽  
pp. 426-432
Author(s):  
Kirby Goidel ◽  
Brian Smentkowski ◽  
Craig Freeman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gay Marriage ◽  
Tea Party ◽  
Religious Identities ◽  
Political Orientations

ABSTRACTReligious freedom in the United States is widely enjoyed and vigorously protected. Yet, a substantial percentage of Americans believe that their religious liberties are threatened. This article investigates the origins of these perceptions, focusing on the role of political orientations, religious identities and behaviors, social issues (i.e., gay marriage and abortion), and news attentiveness. We found that perceptions of threat are related to political orientations (i.e., partisan affiliation, ideology, and Tea Party identification) and issue positions (i.e., opposition to gay marriage). Consistent with theories of elite cue-taking, the effects of partisan affiliation are contingent on news attentiveness. Republicans who pay closer attention to the news are more likely to state that their religious liberties are threatened.

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