throughout the christian world, popes, cardinals, and clergy once exercised immense political influence, sometimes bending kings and emperors to their will. They have lost this preeminent political role in modern Western democracies. Church leaders continue to take positions on controversial moral and social issues, ranging from gay marriages, the availability of divorce and abortion rights to questions of war and peace – but today, they are only one voice among many. Similarly, the once dominant function of the Church in education, healthcare, and alleviating poverty has been transformed by the emergence of the welfare state, so that even where faith-based organizations continue to offer these services, they are state-regulated and authorized by professional bodies. The role of religious symbols, rituals, and rhetoric has been reduced or abandoned both in public life and in the arts, philosophy, and literature. There is no question that the relationship between church and state has changed dramatically. Nevertheless, religion continues to have a major impact on politics. The rise of radical Islamic parties, and the consequence of this development for political stability in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia, has revived popular interest in this phenomenon.

This chapter examines the impact of secularization on partisan support and voting behavior in the mass electorate. Religious dealignment, the evidence suggests, has diluted traditional loyalties linking Catholic voters and Christian Democratic parties in postindustrial nations. But has the process of secularization in postindustrial societies actually eroded the extent to which people vote along religious lines?