scholarly journals Improving the political judgement of citizens: why the task environment matters

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-396
Author(s):  
Benjamin Leruth ◽  
Gerry Stoker
Keyword(s):  
Political Efficacy ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Task Environment ◽  
The Political ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Political Judgement ◽  
Trust In Institutions ◽  
Issue Content ◽  
Task Environments

Internal political efficacy (that is, beliefs about one’s ability to process and participate effectively in politics) is known to be shaped by factors such as levels of interest in politics, trust in institutions and awareness of political developments and debates. In this article, we show that the task environment also has an impact on internal political efficacy, and that little research has been done on this issue. We draw on data from focus groups in Australia, where citizens were asked to make political judgements in contrasting task environments: state elections and the 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite. We examine four features of task environments: framing choice; issue content; the nature of available cues; and whether the task environment stimulates cognitive effort. We conclude that concerns about the internal political efficacy of voters should be addressed by exploring how the task environment created for political choice might be made more amenable in order to improve the political judgement of citizens.

The Implications of Religious Liberty

2017 ◽  
pp. 143-162
Keyword(s):  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Religious Liberty ◽  
The Political ◽  
Marriage Equality ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Public Discussion ◽  
The Public ◽  
Faith Based

The political terrain surrounding the legalization of same-sex marriage and the need to accommodate individual's faith based objections have been part of the public discussion since the passage of initial marriage equality statutes. These exemptions played an important part in the bill's passage and have gone largely unquestioned from proponents of marriage equality. This chapter discusses the heightened lawmaking efforts by opponents insisting on broad protection measures for religious claims based on opposition directed towards homosexuality. This Chapter discusses the resulting tension between religious freedom and marriage equality.

The Importance of Public Meaning for Political Persuasion

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deva Woodly
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Sexual Relationships ◽  
The Political ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Criteria ◽  
Political Persuasion

There have been many retrospective analyses written about the marriage-equality movement since the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling that made marriages between people of the same sex legal in all 50 states. Most attribute that triumph to a stunningly swift turnaround in public comfort with and approval of same-sex relationships. However, public opinion data indicates that this narrative is inaccurate. In 2015, 51% of General Social Survey respondents declared that they found sexual relationships between people of the same sex to be “wrong” at least “some of the time.” Nevertheless, at the same time, 56% of respondents affirmed that people of the same sex ought to have the legal right to marry. This dissonance suggests that the most common narrative about the success of the movement misses something crucial about how political persuasion happened in this case, as well as the way that political persuasion happens in general. In this article, I show that the massive shift in support for same-sex marriage was likely not the result of large majorities changing their underlying attitudes regarding gay sexual relationships, but was instead the result of activists inserting new criteria for evaluating same-sex marriage into popular political discourse by consistently using resonant arguments. These arguments reframed the political stakes, changed the public meaning of the marriage debate, and altered the decisional context in which people determine their policy preferences.

Cultural and Institutional Factors Affecting Political Contention over Moral Issues

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond Tatalovich ◽  
Mildred Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
The Political ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Political Contention

AbstractAbortion and same-sex marriage are moral issues that remain highly contentious in the political life of the United States compared to other countries. This level of contention is explained through comparison with Canada. Contrasts in culture and institutions shaping issues and the political avenues that allow their enactment account for differences in the tenor of politics in the two countries.

scholarly journals Where is the party? Explaining positions on same-sex marriage in Europe among would-be members of parliament

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott N. Siegel ◽  
Stuart J. Turnbull-Dugarte ◽  
Brian A. Olinger
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
The Political ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Political Candidates ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender ◽  
Legislative Reforms

The rapid adoption of marriage equality legislation for non-heterosexual individuals in Europe is attributed to many factors, including dramatic shifts in public opinion, the work of transnational activists and changing international norms. Usually, these factors must be filtered through the halls of parliaments where most policy change happens. Given the importance of parliamentarians’ attitudes, it is surprising that we know so little about how attitudes towards same-sex marriage are distributed across political candidates in Europe and what factors shape them. This article fills that gap by using an underutilised dataset on the political preferences of candidates for parliamentary office. We find that beyond attachment to party families, a candidate’s religiosity and practice has a greater effect on a would-be Member of Parliament’s attitudes towards same-sex marriage. The findings suggest that the success of parliamentary action on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights depends not on the partisan composition of the legislature, but rather on the representation of secular candidates.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Support among parliamentary candidates aspiring to become legislators is an important prerequisite for the advancement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in polities where institutional equality is brought about via legislative reforms.</li><br /><li>Over and above partisanship attachment and ideological positions, the religiosity of would-be Members of Parliament is important in establishing support for same-sex marriage.</li><br /><li>The secular composition of legislative chambers, rather than its partisan composition, is more likely to predict the success of the advancement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.</li></ul>

scholarly journals MAKING SENSE OF THE ANTI-SAME-SEX-MARRIAGE MOVEMENT IN FRANCE

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Gunther
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Movements ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
The Face ◽  
Definition Of

This article examines the political style and rhetoric of the Manif pour tous (MPT), the main organization opposing same-sex marriage in France, from summer 2013 to the present. It exposes how the MPT’s style and rhetoric differ from those of their American counterparts, and what this tells us about the different strategies of political movements in France and the United States generally. It is based on an analysis of the language used by activists whom I interviewed in 2014 and 2015 and on a discourse analysis of the MPT’s website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, and press releases since 2013. This analysis of the distinctive features of the MPT brings to light underlying concerns about French identity in the face of globalization. In other words, for the MPT and its members, what is at stake is not just same-sex marriage but the very definition of Frenchness.

The Racialization of White Man's Polygamy

Hypatia ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 852-874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Denike
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Philosophy ◽  
North America ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
White Supremacist ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Archival Documentation

This paper offers a genealogy of anti-polygamy sentiment in North America, elucidating certain racist and nationalist formations that are implicit in the historical valorization and enforcement of heterosexual monogamy. It tracks the white supremacist and heteronormative logic that conditions the widespread disdain toward polygamy, and that renders it fundamentally different from familial configurations that are associated with national identity. Relating political and philosophical doctrines to the archival documentation and insights of contemporary legal and cultural historians of anti-polygamy sentiment, it elucidates the racial Anglo-Saxonism of Hegel's ruminations on marriage and on the state, and highlights its reverberation within the political philosophy that justified the criminalization of polygamy and its supporting institutions in the nineteenth century and in contemporary immigration policy and same-sex marriage advocacy in Canada and the United States.

In Search of Judicial Activism in the Same-Sex Marriage Cases: Sorting the Evidence from Courts, Legislatures, Initiatives and Amendments

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Barclay
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Federal Courts ◽  
The Political ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Philosophical Discussion ◽  
Constitutional Amendments ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Elected Representatives ◽  
President Bush

In 2006, President Bush publicly stated that, in relation to the same-sex marriage issue, “activist judges” were thwarting the preferred policy of the elected representatives and the expression of popular will embodied in popular initiatives and constitutional amendments. Notwithstanding the philosophical discussion of the constitutionally assigned role of courts in the political system and the idea of judicial independence, President Bush's statement raises an interesting empirical question: In the case of same-sex marriage, have state and federal courts really acted in direct opposition to the expressed policy preferences of current or recent legislative majorities or overturned popular initiatives and constitutional amendments? Using evidence from state and federal legislative and judicial action around same-sex marriage primarily from the fifteen years preceding President Bush's 2006 statement, I argue that, with some rare exceptions, judges can not easily be identified as “activist” on the issue of same-sex marriage even if we assess their actions according to President Bush's criteria.

The Political Divide Over Same-Sex Marriage

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Pinsof ◽  
Martie Haselton
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Political Divide

Balancing Interests

2022 ◽  
pp. 179-201
Keyword(s):  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
The Political ◽  
Marriage Equality ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Faith Based

The political terrain surrounding the legalization of same-sex marriage and the need to accommodate individuals' faith-based objections have been part of public discourse since the passage of initial marriage equality statutes. These exemptions played an essential element in the bills' passages and have mainly gone unquestioned from proponents of marriage equality. But for many of the supporters of these religious exemptions, they did not go far enough to protect business owners or government officials who objected on religious grounds. This chapter discusses the resulting tension between religious freedom and marriage equality.

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