scholarly journals THE CHURCH AND CONGRESS: RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS AND FOREIGN POLICY VOTING IN THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 345-371
Author(s):  
Todd Collins ◽  
Kenneth A. Wink ◽  
James L. Guth ◽  
C. Don Livingston
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Religious Orientation ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Religion And Politics ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
National Journal ◽  
The U.S

Recent literature in the religion and politics area has focused on the effect of various measures of religious affiliation on the political behavior of the mass public. Here we add to the evolving literature examining the influence of religious orientation on political elite behavior, focusing on the U.S. House of Representatives. Method. We use data on the religious affiliations of U.S. House members and National Journal scores of foreign policy voting to test the influence of religion on foreign policy ideology from 1998-2003. Our findings indicate that even after controlling for traditional political factors, religious identity influenced foreign policy voting in the House. African-American Protestants, Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and Evangelical Protestants present the most distinctive patterns. Conclusions. From this analysis we see further indications that religion influences legislative behavior in a way that, although intertwined with political partisanship, appears distinct from traditional political factors.

The Religious Affiliation of Representatives and Support for Funding the Iraq War

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 550-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd A. Collins ◽  
Kenneth A. Wink ◽  
James L. Guth ◽  
C. Don Livingston
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Iraq War ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Religious Orientation ◽  
Military Intervention ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
Roman Catholics

AbstractIn this article, we add to the evolving literature examining the importance of religious orientation and political elite behavior. We use data on the religious affiliations of United States House of Representative members to test the influence of religion on military funding for the “War on Terror.” Our findings indicate that, even after controlling for traditional political factors, such as ideology and partisanship, representatives' religious backgrounds often played a role in support for this bill. Roman Catholics, African-American Protestants, and those of other religions and the non-religious were more strongly opposed to funding for military intervention than mainline Protestants, even after controlling for other factors. This article provides a further look at the influence of religion and suggests that factors outside the traditional political dynamics may also be important in examining elite behaviors.

Presidential Influence in the House: Presidential Prestige as a Source of Presidential Power

1976 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
George C. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
The Other ◽  
Presidential Power ◽  
Presidential Popularity ◽  
The One ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Presidential Influence

Presidential prestige or popularity has often been cited as an important source of presidential influence in Congress. It has not been empirically and systematically demonstrated, however, that such a relationship exists. This study examines a variety of relationships between presidential prestige and presidential support in the U.S. House of Representatives. The relationships between overall national presidential popularity on the one hand and overall, domestic, and foreign policy presidential support in the House as a whole and among various groups of congressmen on the other are generally weak. Consistently strong relationships are found between presidential prestige among Democratic party identifiers and presidential support among Democratic congressmen. Similar relationships are found between presidential prestige among the more partisan Republican party identifiers and the presidential support by Republican congressmen. Explanations for these findings are presented, and the findings are related to broader questions of American politics.

Women's and Men's Campaigns for The U.S. House of Representatives, 1972-1982 A Finance Gap?

1985 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara C. Burrell
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Fund Raising ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Political Action Committees ◽  
Financial Problem ◽  
Women Candidates ◽  
Disadvantaged Women ◽  
Campaign Financing ◽  
The U.S

The lack of access to equal financial resources with male candidates has been viewed as a major contributing factor in women's inability to gain public office. Analysis of the campaign finance records for election to the U.S. House of Representatives from 1972 to 1982 shows that although on the average women nominees have never raised or spent as much as men, the size of their disparity is curvilinear over these years, and the correlation between gender and campaign financing is weak. Within candidate status groups (incumbents, challengers, and open races) and within the parties female nominees have not been consistently disadvantaged. Women candidates of both parties even have outdistanced their male counterparts on occasion. Data from the 1980 and 1982 elections also indicate that the structure of male and female fund raising is similar in their support from large contributors, political action committees, and the parties. Further, for women challengers, expenditures have a larger impact on votes than for male challengers. The financial problem for women candidates would appear not to lie at the general election stage of the process. Earlier stages, however, may account for women's relative absence from the elected political elite.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document