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Not in His Image: The Moderating Effect of Gender on Religious Appeals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2011

Brian R. Calfano  and
Paul A. Djupe
Brian R. Calfano*
Affiliation:
Missouri State University
Paul A. Djupe*
Affiliation:
Denison University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Brian R. Calfano, Missouri State University, Department of Political Science, 901 S. National Avenue, Springfield, MO 65897. E-mail: briancalfano@hotmail.com; or to Paul A. Djupe, Denison University, 100 West College Street, Granville, OH 43023. E-mail: djupe@denison.edu
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Brian R. Calfano, Missouri State University, Department of Political Science, 901 S. National Avenue, Springfield, MO 65897. E-mail: briancalfano@hotmail.com; or to Paul A. Djupe, Denison University, 100 West College Street, Granville, OH 43023. E-mail: djupe@denison.edu
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Abstract

Religious appeals have been part and parcel of campaign strategy for decades. Most often, however, these appeals to have come from men, but little is known about how women would fare using religious appeals on the campaign trail. To remedy this, we used an experimental design to examine voter reaction to religious appeals from a female and a male candidate competing for an open United States Senate seat. We find that women's use of religious appeals is governed by the dynamics of tokenism — reinforcing traditional gender stereotypes and serving to reduce voter support of the female candidate. This suggests that women must be careful in using a key campaign tool traditionally employed by men, and that this may affect the extent to which female candidates can effectively shape voter perceptions on the campaign trail.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , August 2011 , pp. 338 - 354
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2011

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