Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T11:57:50.189Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Politics of Gay Rights and the Gender Gap: A Perspective on the Clergy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2008

Melissa Deckman*
Affiliation:
Washington College
Sue E.S. Crawford
Affiliation:
Creighton University
Laura R. Olson
Affiliation:
Clemson University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Melissa Deckman, Department of Political Science, Washington College, 300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, MD 21620. E-mail: mdeckman2@washcoll.edu

Abstract

In this article, we explore the nexus of gender, religious leadership, and attitudes toward homosexuality and gay rights. Homosexuality has become a frontline issue in American politics, as illustrated most recently by gay marriage battles in the courts and state legislatures as well as state referenda campaigns designed to define marriage legally as the union of a man and a woman. Using survey data from a national random sample of 3,208 clergy who serve in six mainline Protestant denominations, we analyze the extent to which gender operates as a significant predictor of public speech on gay rights issues. Ordinal logistic regression allows us to demonstrate that women clergy are substantially more likely than their male counterparts to speak publicly on gay rights, as well as to model more generally the factors that compel clergy to take action to address this controversial issue in public.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anderson, James. 1997. “The Lesbian and Gay Liberation Movement in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 1974–1996.” Journal of Homosexuality 34:3765.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Banerjee, Neela. 2004. “Rupture in U.S. Episcopal Church.” The New York Times, October 3.Google Scholar
Beatty, Kathleen Murphy, and Walter, Oliver. 1989. “A Group Theory of Religion and Politics: The Clergy as Group Leaders.” Western Political Quarterly 42:129–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beuttler, Fred. 1999. “Making Theology Matter: Power, Polity, and the Theological Debate over Homosexual Ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).” Review of Religious Research 41:239–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brewer, Paul. 2003. “The Shifting Foundations of Public Opinion about Gay Rights.” Journal of Politics 65:1208–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burgess, John. 1999. “Framing the Homosexuality Debate Theologically: Lessons from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).” Review of Religious Research 41:262–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cadge, Wendy. 2002. “Vital Conflicts: The Mainline Denominations Debate Homosexuality.” In The Quiet Hand of God: Faith-Based Activism and the Public Role of Mainline Protestantism, eds. Wuthnow, Robert and Evans, John H., Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Carroll, Jackson W., Wheeler, Barbara G., Aleshire, Daniel O., and Long Marler, Penny. 1997. Being There: Culture and Formation in Two Theological Schools. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cochran, John K., and Beeghley, Leonard. 1991. “The Influence of Religion on Attitudes toward Nonmarital Sexuality: A Preliminary Assessment of Reference Group Therapy.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 30:4562.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coffin, Brent. 2005. “Moral Deliberation in Congregations.” In Taking Faith Seriously, ed. Jo Bane, Mary, Coffin, Brent, and Higgins, Richard. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Cotten-Huston, Annie, and Waite, Bradley M.. 2000. “Anti-Homosexual Attitudes in College Students: Predictors and Classroom Interventions.” Journal of Homosexuality 38:117–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coulmont, Baptiste. 2005. “Do the Rite Thing: Religious Civil Unions in Vermont.” Social Compass 52:225–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crawford, Sue E.S., and Olson, Laura R., eds. 2001. Christian Clergy in American Politics. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Deckman, Melissa M., Crawford, Sue E. S., Olson, Laura R., and Green, John C.. 2003. “Clergy and the Politics of Gender.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 42:621–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dionne, E.J. 2008. Souled Out: Reclaiming Religion and Politics after the Religious Right. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Djupe, Paul A., and Gilbert, Christopher P.. 2002. “The Political Voice of Clergy.” Journal of Politics 64:596609.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Djupe, Paul A., and Gilbert, Christopher P.. 2003. The Prophetic Pulpit: Clergy, Churches, and Communities in American Politics. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.Google Scholar
Djupe, Paul A., and Gilbert, Christopher P.. 2006. “The Resourceful Believer: Generating Civic Skills in Church.” Journal of Politics 68:116–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Djupe, Paul A., Olson, Laura R., and Gilbert, Christopher P.. 2006. “Whether to Adopt Statements on Homosexuality in Two Denominations.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 45:609–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellingson, Stephen, Tebbe, Nelson, Van Haitsma, Martha, and Laumann, Edward. 2001. “Religion and the Politics of Sexuality.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 30:355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Findlay, James F. 1993. Church People in the Struggle: The National Council of Churches and the Black Freedom Movement, 1950–1970. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finlay, Barbara, and Walther, Carol S.. 2003. “The Relation of Religious Affiliation, Service Attendance, and Other Factors to Homophobic Attitudes among University Students.” Review of Religious Research 44:370–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisher, Randy D., Derison, Donna, Polley, Chester F.I., Cadman, Jennifer, and Johnston, Dana. 1994. “Religiousness, Religious Orientation, and Attitudes towards Gays and Lesbians.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 24:614–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friedland, Michael B. 1998. Lift Up Your Voice Like a Trumpet: White Clergy and the Civil Rights and Antiwar Movements, 1954–1973. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilbert, Christopher P. 1993. The Impact of Churches on Political Behavior: An Empirical Study. Westport, CT: Greenwood.Google Scholar
Gilligan, Carol. 1982. In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Glenn, Norval D., and Weaver, Charles N.. 1979. “Attitudes toward Premarital, Extramarital, and Homosexual Relations in the U.S. in the 1970s.” Journal of Sex Research 15:108–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guth, James L., Green, John C., Smidt, Corwin E., Kellstedt, Lyman A., and Poloma, Margaret M.. 1997. The Bully Pulpit: The Politics of Protestant Clergy. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.Google Scholar
Hadden, Jeffrey K. 1969. The Gathering Storm in the Churches. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.Google Scholar
Herek, Gregory M. 2002. “Gender Gaps in Public Opinion about Lesbians and Gay Men.” Public Opinion Quarterly 66:4066.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herek, Gregory M., and Glunt, Eric K.. 1993. “Interpersonal Contact and Heterosexuals' Attitudes toward Gay Men: Results from a National Survey.” Journal of Sex Research 30:239–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hertzke, Allen D. 1988. Representing God in Washington: The Role of Religious Lobbies in the American Polity. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press.Google Scholar
Huckfeldt, Robert, Plutzer, Eric, and Sprague, John. 1993. “Alternative Contexts of Political Behavior: Churches, Neighborhoods, and Individuals.” Journal of Politics 55:365–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunter, James Davison. 1991. Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America. New York, NY: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Hunter, James Davison, and Sargeant, Kimon Howland. 1993. “Religion and the Transformation of Public Culture.” Social Research 60:545–70.Google Scholar
Irwin, Patrick, and Thompson, Norman L.. 1977. “Acceptance of the Rights of Homosexuals: A Social Profile.” Journal of Homosexuality 3:107–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Katz, Elihu, and Lazarsfeld, Paul F.. 1955. Personal Influence: The Part Played by People in the Flow of Mass Communication. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.Google Scholar
Kaufmann, Karen M. 2004. “The Partisan Paradox: Religious Commitment and the Gender Gap in Party Identification.” Public Opinion Quarterly 68:491511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaufmann, Karen M., and Petrocik, John R.. 1999. “The Changing Politics of American Men: Understanding the Sources of the Gender Gap.” American Journal of Political Science 43:864–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kerns, John G., and Fine, Mark A.. 1994. “The Relation Between Gender and Negative Attitudes toward Gay Men and Lesbians: Do Gender Role Attitudes Mediate This Relation?Sex Roles 31:297307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirkpatrick, Lee. 1993. “Fundamentalism, Christian Orthodoxy, and Intrinsic Religious Orientation As Predictors of Discriminatory Attitudes.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 32:256–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kite, Mary E., and Whitley, Bernard E. Jr. 1996. “Sex Differences in Attitudes toward Homosexual Persons, Behaviors, and Civil Rights: A Meta-Analysis.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 22:336–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kohut, Andrew, Green, John C., Keeter, Scott, and Toth, Robert C.. 2000. The Diminishing Divide: Religion's Changing Role in American Politics. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Koller, Norman B., and Retzer, Joseph D.. 1980. “The Sounds of Silence Revisited.” Sociological Analysis 41:155–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loftus, Jeni. 2001. “America's Liberalization in Attitudes toward Homosexuality, 1973–1998.” American Sociological Review 66:762–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, Laura R., and Cadge, Wendy. 2002. “Talking about Homosexuality: The Views of Mainline Protestant Clergy.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 41:153–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, Laura R., Cadge, Wendy, and Harrison, James T.. 2006. “Religion and Public Opinion about Same-Sex Marriage.” Social Science Quarterly 87:340–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, Laura R., Crawford, Sue E.S., and Deckman, Melissa M.. 2005. Women with a Mission: Religion, Gender, and the Politics of Women Clergy. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press.Google Scholar
Olson, Laura R., Crawford, Sue E.S., and Guth, James L.. 2000. “Changing Issue Agendas of Women Clergy.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 39:140–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. 2004. “Religious Beliefs Underpin Opposition to Homosexuality.” http://pewforum.org/docs/index.php?DocID=37.Google Scholar
Presbyterian, Panel. 1996. “Current Issues in PCUSA.” http://www.pcusa.org/research/panel/index.htm#tocO. (Accessed September 29, 2008).Google Scholar
Quinley, Harold E. 1974. The Prophetic Clergy: Social Activism among Protestant Ministers. New York, NY: Wiley.Google Scholar
Rhodebeck, Laurie. 2005. “Partisanship, Religion, and Gay Rights: Another Perspective on the Gender Gap.” Presented at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science AssociationChicago.Google Scholar
Roof, Wade Clark, and McKinney, William. 1987. Mainline American Religion: It's Changing Shape and Future. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.Google Scholar
Rosenstone, Steven, and Hansen, John Mark. 1993. Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America. New York, NY: MacMillan.Google Scholar
Smidt, Corwin E., ed. 2004. Pulpit and Politics: Clergy in American Politics at the Advent of the Millennium. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, Christian. 1996. Resisting Reagan: The U.S.-Central America Peace Movement. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sullivan, Amy. 2008. The Party Faithful: How and Why the Democrats are closing the God Gap. New York, NY: Scribner Press.Google Scholar
Trevor, Margaret C. 1999. “Political Socialization, Party Identification, and the Gender Gap.” Public Opinion Quarterly 63:6278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wald, Kenneth D., Owen, Dennis E., and Hill, Samuel S.. 1988. “Churches as Political Communities.” American Political Science Review 82:531–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wald, Kenneth D., Owen, Dennis E., and Hill, Samuel S.. 1990. “Political Cohesion in Churches.” Journal of Politics 52:197215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welch, Michael R., Leege, David C., Wald, Kenneth D., and Kellstedt, Lyman A.. 1993. “Are the Sheep Hearing the Shepherds? Cue Perceptions, Congregational Responses, and Political Communication Processes.” In Rediscovering the Religious Factor in American Politics, eds. Leege, David C. and Kellstedt, Lyman A.. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
Wellman, James K. 1999. “Introduction: The Debate over Homosexual Ordination: Subcultural Identity Theory in American Religious Organizations.” Review of Religious Research 41:184206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, James, and Block, Jon P.. 1995. “The Role of Church Assemblies in Building a Civil Society: The Case of the United Methodist General Conference on Homosexuality.” Sociology of Religion 56:121–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wuthnow, Robert. 1988. The Restructuring of American Religion: Society and Faith Since World War II. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zikmund, Barbara Brown, Lummis, Adair T., and Chang, Patricia Mei Yin. 1998. Clergy Women: An Uphill Calling. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox.Google Scholar