Introduction
This introduction develops a theoretical framework capable of explaining both the rise of white Protestant social concern in the latter part of the nineteenth century and its sudden demise at the end of the twentieth. The theory proceeds from the premise that religious conviction, by itself, is rarely sufficient to motivate empathetic political behavior. When believers do act empathetically—for example, by championing reforms that transfer resources or political influence to less privileged groups within society—it is typically because strong religious institutions have compelled them to do so. For much of American history, the socioeconomic significance of church membership, coupled with a robust network of ecumenical institutions, endowed mainline Protestant leaders with considerable authority over the beliefs and actions of their congregations. Beginning in the late 1960s, however, the collapse of mainline Protestant authority fueled the rise of an evangelical movement whose leaders were incentivized to echo the increasingly conservative political convictions of the broader white electorate.