Catholics and US Politics After the 2016 Elections: Understanding the “Swing Vote"

225 Pages·2018·2.481 MB·English

by  Marie Gayte, Blandine Chelini-Pont, Mark J. Rozell (eds.)

CATHOLICS AND US POLITICS
AFTER THE 2016 ELECTIONS
Understanding the “Swing Vote”
EDITED BY MARIE GAYTE,
BLANDINE CHELINI-PONT, AND MARK J. ROZELL
Palgrave Studies in Religion, Politics, and Policy
Series editors
Ted G. Jelen
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV, USA
Mark J. Rozell
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA, USA
A generation ago, many social scientists regarded religion as an anachronism, whose
social, economic, and political importance would inevitably wane and disappear
in the face of the inexorable forces of modernity. Of course, nothing of the sort has
occurred; indeed, the public role of religion is resurgent in US domestic politics, in
other nations, and in the international arena. Today, religion is widely acknowledged
to be a key variable in candidate nominations, platforms, and elections; it is recognized
as a major influence on domestic and foreign policies. National religious movements as
diverse as the Christian Right in the United States and the Taliban in Afghanistan are
important factors in the internal politics of particular nations. Moreover, such transna-
tional religious actors as Al-Qaida, Falun Gong, and the Vatican have had important
effects on the politics and policies of nations around the world.
Palgrave Studies in Religion, Politics, and Policy serves a growing niche in the dis-
cipline of political science. This subfield has proliferated rapidly during the past two
decades, and has generated an enormous amount of scholarly studies and journalistic
coverage. In 2006, the journal Politics and Religion was created; in addition, works
relating to religion and politics have been the subject of many articles in more general
academic journals. The number of books and monographs on religion and politics has
increased tremendously. In the past, many social scientists dismissed religion as a key
variable in politics and government.
This series casts a broad net over the subfield, providing opportunities for scholars
at all levels to publish their works with Palgrave. The series publishes monographs in
all subfields of political science, including American Politics, Public Policy, Public Law,
Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Theory.
The principal focus of the series is the public role of religion. “Religion” is con-
strued broadly to include public opinion, religious institutions, and the legal frame-
works under which religious politics are practiced. The “dependent variable” in which
we are interested is politics, defined broadly to include analyses of the public sources
and consequences of religious belief and behavior. These would include matters
of public policy, as well as variations in the practice of political life. We welcome a
diverse range of methodological perspectives, provided that the approaches taken are
intellectually rigorous.
The series does not deal with works of theology, in that arguments about the
validity or utility of religious beliefs are not a part of the series focus. Similarly, the
authors of works about the private or personal consequences of religious belief and
behavior, such as personal happiness, mental health, or family dysfunction, should
seek other outlets for their writings. Although historical perspectives can often
illuminate our understanding of modern political phenomena, our focus in the
Religion, Politics, and Policy series is on the relationship between the sacred and the
political in contemporary societies.
More information about this series at
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Marie Gayte · Blandine Chelini-Pont
Mark J. Rozell
Editors
Catholics and US
Politics After the 2016
Elections
Understanding the “Swing Vote”
Editors
Marie Gayte Mark J. Rozell
Université de Toulon George Mason University
Toulon, Var, France Fairfax, VA, USA
Blandine Chelini-Pont
Aix-Marseille University
Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
Palgrave Studies in Religion, Politics, and Policy
ISBN 978-3-319-62261-3 ISBN 978-3-319-62262-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62262-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017944710
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
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C
ontents
1 Introduction: The “Catholic Vote” in the USA 1
Mark J. Rozell
Part I Political Parties and Ideologies
2 Catholic Patterns in the American Left 23
Amandine Barb
3 Catholic Colonization of the American Right 43
Blandine Chelini-Pont
4 Catholics and Evangelicals: Does Donald Trump Mean
the End of the Religious Right? 63
Neil J. Young
Part II The Bishops and the Holy See
5 The US Catholic Bishops: From Separationism
to Public Intervention 85
Marie Gayte
v
vi CONTENTS
6 The Holy See and the Catholic Community in the 2016
Presidential Election 105
Gerald P. Fogarty S.J.
Part III Catholics and US Elections
7 The Catholic Vote in the Election of Donald J. Trump 129
Douglas W. Kmiec
8 A Catholic Latino Vote? 161
Olivier Richomme
9 “Can We Get the Catholic Vote?” the Effects of Catholic
Running Mates in Presidential Elections 193
Ted G. Jelen
10 Catholics and the 2016 Elections 209
Mark M. Gray
Index 221
e C
ditors and ontributors
About the Editors
Marie Gayte is an Associate Professor of US history at Université de
Toulon, France.
Blandine Chelini-Pont is a Professor of Contemporary History at
Aix-Marseille University, France.
Mark J. Rozell is the Dean of the Schar School of Policy and
Government and the Ruth D. and John T. Hazel Chair in Public Policy
at George Mason University, Virginia, USA.
Contributors
Amandine Barb is a Postdoctoral scholar in Theology at Humboldt
University, Berlin, Germnay.
Gerald P. Fogarty, S.J is William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor in Religious
Studies and History at the University of Virginia, USA.
Mark M. Gray is the Director of the Center for Applied Research in the
Apostolate at Georgetown University, USA.
Ted G. Jelen is a Professor of political science at University of Nevada,
Las Vegas, USA.
vii
viii EDITORS AND CONTRIBUTORS
Douglas W. Kmiec, US Ambassador (ret.), is Caruso Family Chair
in Constitutional Law & Human Rights at Pepperdine University,
California, USA.
Olivier Richomme is a Professor of American studies at University of
Lyon, France.
Neil J. Young is an affiliated scholar in the Schar School of Policy and
Government at George Mason University, Virginia, USA.
L f
ist of igures
Fig. 8.1 Presidential vote by affiliation and race 163
Fig. 8.2 Political views of Latinos according to religious affiliation
2014 165
Fig. 8.3 Percentage of Catholics among Latinos 2010–2013 166
Fig. 8.4 Latino religious affiliation by age 2013 166
Fig. 8.5 Ethno-racial groups among Catholics 2013 167
Fig. 8.6 Estimation of total numbers of Latino electorate 169
Fig. 8.7 Estimated Latino electorate impact as percentage of general
electorate 170
Fig. 8.8 Estimation of total number of Latinos not voting, in millions 171
Fig. 8.9 Percentage of foreign-born Latinos 172
Fig. 8.10 Median age by racial/ethnic group 173
Fig. 8.11 2016 estimation of generation percentage in electorate
by racial/ethnic group 174
Fig. 8.12 2012 registration and turnout rate by age group 175
Fig. 8.13 Latino registration rate by presidential election year 175
Fig. 8.14 Turnout rate by racial/ethnic group 176
Fig. 8.15 Electoral participation per ethno-racial group 177
Fig. 8.16 Latino population concentration per state, 2015 census
estimates 178
Fig. 8.17 Latino population and voting age population in presidential
swing states 2015 179
Fig. 8.18 Florida Latino population breakdown by national ancestry
2016 180
Fig. 8.19 Evolution of composition of the Florida Latino population 180
ix