Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-x5cpj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-28T20:51:16.991Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Are Religious People More Compassionate and Does This Matter Politically?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2013

David D. Blouin ,
Robert V. Robinson  and
Brian Starks
David D. Blouin*
Affiliation:
Indiana University, South Bend
Robert V. Robinson*
Affiliation:
Indiana University, Bloomington
Brian Starks*
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame
*
Address correspondence and requests for reprints to: David D. Blouin, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Indiana University South Bend, 1700 Mishawaka Avenue, P.O. Box 7111, South Bend, IN 46634 E-mail: dblouin@iusb.edu
Robert V. Robinson, Department of Sociology, 744 Ballantine Hall, 1020 E. Kirkwood Avenue, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405. E-mail: robinsor@indiana.edu
Brian Starks, University of Notre Dame. Catholic Social and Pastoral Research Initiative, 303 Geddes Hall, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556. E-mail: Brian.Starks.2@nd.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Analyzing a unique module of the General Social Survey, we test hypotheses that three religion dimensions — affiliation with specific religious traditions (belonging), service attendance (behaving), and religious orthodoxy (believing) are associated with compassionate feelings, and that these feelings carry over into support for government efforts to help the poor, blacks, and the sick. The religiously orthodox report more compassionate feelings toward others than do modernists and, partly because of this, are more supportive of government intervention to help the poor. Yet attending religious services frequently does not increase compassionate feelings and makes people less supportive of government efforts to help the poor. There are no differences among religious traditions in compassionate feelings, and the only difference on economic policy preferences is for Black Protestants to support government assistance to blacks. Compassionate feelings have comparable effects to political ideology and party identification on support for government assistance to the disadvantaged and misfortunate. We conclude that people of faith, variously defined, do not constitute a monolithic “Religious Right” and are potentially open to policy appeals from both political parties.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , September 2013 , pp. 618 - 645
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2013 

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

Allport, Gordon W., and Ross, J.M.. 1967. “Personal Religious Orientation and Prejudice.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 5:432–443.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bellah, Robert N., Madsen, Richard, Sullivan, William N., Swidler, Ann, and Tipton, Steven M.. 1985. Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. New York, NY: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Brint, Steven, and Abrutyn, Seth. 2010. “Who's Right about the Right? Comparing Competing Explanations of the Link Between White Evangelicals and Conservative Politics in the United States.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 49:328–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brooks, Clem. 2002. “Religious Influence and the Politics of Family Decline Concern: Trends, Sources, and U.S. Political Behavior.” American Sociological Review 67:191–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CBS News. 2007. “White Evangelicals, the Issues and the 2008 Election: October 12–16, 2007.” http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/CBSNews_poll_evan_101807.pdf (Accessed on December 17, 2010).Google Scholar
Clark, Candace. 1997. Misery and Company: Sympathy in Everyday Life. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Curry, Evans W., Koch, Jerome R., and Chalfant, H. Paul. 2004. “Concern for God and Concern for Society: Religiosity and Social Justice.” Sociological Spectrum 24:651–666.Google Scholar
D'Antonio, William V., Davidson, James D., Hoge, Dean R., and Gautier, Mary L.. 2007. American Catholics Today: New Realities of Their Faith and Their Church. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.Google Scholar
Davis, Nancy J., and Robinson, Robert V.. 1996. “Are the Rumors of War Exaggerated? Religious Orthodoxy and Moral Progressivism in the United States.” American Journal of Sociology 102:756–787.Google Scholar
Davis, Nancy J., and Robinson, Robert V.. 1999. “Their Brothers' Keepers? Orthodox Religionists, Modernists and Economic Justice in Europe.” American Journal of Sociology 104:1631–1665.Google Scholar
Davis, Nancy J., and Robinson, Robert V.. 2006. “The Egalitarian Face of Islamic Orthodoxy: Support for Islamic Law and Economic Justice in Seven Muslim-Majority Nations.” American Sociological Review 71:167–190.Google Scholar
Davis, Nancy J., and Robinson, Robert V.. 2009. “Overcoming Movement Obstacles by the Religiously Orthodox: The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Shas in Israel, Comunione e Liberazione in Italy and the Salvation Army in the U.S.” American Journal of Sociology 114:1302–1349.Google Scholar
Davis, Nancy J., and Robinson, Robert V.. 2012. Claiming Society for God: Religious Movements and Social Welfare. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Djupe, Paul A., and Gilbert, Christopher P.. 2006. “The Resourceful Believer: Generating Civic Skills in Church.” Journal of Politics 68:116–127.Google Scholar
Ellison, Christopher G. 1992. “Are Religious People Nice People? Evidence from the National Survey of Black Americans.” Social Forces 71:411–430.Google Scholar
Emerson, Michael O., and Smith, Christian. 2000. Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Feldman, Stanley, and Steenbergen, Marco R.. 2001. “The Humanitarian Foundation of Public Support for Social Welfare.” American Journal of Political Science 45:658–677.Google Scholar
Felmlee, Diane, and Hargens, Lowell. 1988. “Estimation and Hypothesis Testing for Seemingly Unrelated Regressions: A Sociological Application.” Social Science Research 17:384–399.Google Scholar
Greeley, Andrew M. 1990. The Catholic Myth: The Behavior and Beliefs of American Catholics. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons.Google Scholar
Green, John C. 2007. The Faith Factor: How Religion Influences American Elections. New York, NY: Praeger.Google Scholar
Hanushek, Erik A., and Jackson, John E.. 1977. Statistical Methods for Social Scientists. New York, NY: Academic.Google Scholar
Hunter, James Davison. 1991. Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America. New York, NY: Basic.Google Scholar
Junisbai, Azamat. 2010. “Understanding Economic Justice in Two Countries: Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.” Social Forces 88:1677–1702.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanov, Jason M., Maitlis, Sally, Worline, Monica C., Dutton, Jane E., Frost, Peter J., and Lilius, Jacoba M.. 2004. “Compassion in Organizational Life.” American Behavioral Scientist 47:808–827.Google Scholar
Keyes, Corey L.M. 2002. “Social Civility in the United States.” Sociological Inquiry 72:393–408.Google Scholar
Leege, David C., and Kellstedt, Lyman A., eds. 1993. Rediscovering the Religious Factor in American Politics. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
Long, J. Scott. 1999. Structural Equations Modeling. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University.Google Scholar
McKnight, John. 1995. The Careless Society: Community and Its Counterfeits. New York, NY: Basic Books.Google Scholar
National Conference of Catholic Bishops. 1986. “A Pastoral Message: Economic Justice for All.” http://www.usccb.org/upload/economic_justice_for_all.pdf (Accessed on May 15, 2012).Google Scholar
Olson, Laura R., and Warber, Adam L.. 2008. “Belonging, Behaving, and Believing: Assessing the Role of Religion on Presidential Approval.” Political Research Quarterly 61:192–204.Google Scholar
Preacher, Kristopher J., and Hayes, Andrew F.. 2008. “Asymptotic and Resampling Strategies for Assessing and Comparing Indirect Effects in Multiple Mediator Models.” Behavioral Research Methods 40:879–891.Google Scholar
Putnam, Robert D. 2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Regnerus, Mark D., Smith, Christian, and Sikkink, David. 1998. “Who Gives to the Poor? The Influence of Religious Tradition and Political Location on the Personal Generosity of Americans Toward the Poor.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 37:481–493.Google Scholar
Robinson, Robert V., and Bell, Wendell. 1978. “Equality, Success and Social Justice in England and the United States.” American Sociological Review 43:125–143.Google Scholar
Schopenhauer, Arthur. [1840] 2000. On the Basis of Morality. Translated by Payne, E. F. J.Lancaster: Hackett Publishing.Google Scholar
Schott, Liz, and Finch, Ife. 2010. “TANF Benefits are Low and Have Not Kept Pace with Inflation.” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, October 14.Google Scholar
Starks, Brian, and Robinson, Robert V.. 2009. “Two Approaches to Religion and Politics: Moral Cosmology and Subcultural Identity.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 48:650–669.Google Scholar
Steensland, Brian. 2007. The Failed Welfare Revolution: America's Struggle over Guaranteed Income Policy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Steensland, Brian, Park, Jerry Z., Regnerus, Mark D., Robinson, Lynn D., Wilcox, W. Bradford, and Woodberry, Robert D.. 2000. “The Measure of American Religion: Toward Improving the State of the Art.” Social Forces 79:291–318.Google Scholar
Tropman, John E. 1995. The Catholic Ethic in American Society: An Exploration of Values. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass Publishers.Google Scholar
Wallis, Jim. 2008. The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America. New York, NY: HarperOne.Google Scholar
Weber, Max. [1922] 1964. The Sociology of Religion. Translated by Fischoff, Ephraim. Boston: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
Wilson, William Julius. 1997. When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor. New York, NY: Vintage.Google Scholar
Woodbury, Robert D., and Smith, Christian S.. 1998. “Fundamentalism et al.: Conservative Protestants in America.” Annual Review of Sociology 24:25–56.Google Scholar
Wuthnow, Robert. 1988. The Restructuring of American Religion: Society and Faith since World War II. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Wuthnow, Robert. 1991. Acts of Compassion: Caring for Others and Helping Ourselves. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Wuthnow, Robert. 2004. Saving America: Faith-Based Services and the Future of Civil Society. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Wuthnow, Robert, and Evans, John H.. eds. 2002. The Quiet Hand of God: Faith-Based Activism and the Public Role of Mainline Protestantism. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar