Do the Democrats Have a Religion Problem?

Boisi Center event

Mark Silk
Trinity College

Peter Skerry
艾可直播 College

Michael Sean Winters
National Catholic Reporter

M. Cathleen Kaveny
艾可直播 College (moderator)

Date:听Monday, October 28, 2019
Location:听Fulton Hall 511

Event Flyer

Abstract

The press and many politicians portray the contemporary Republican Party as the political standard bearer for persons of faith, while the Democratic Party -- long the party of Catholics and working class Southern Protestants -- is seen as the party of the non- (or even anti-) religious voter. There is much evidence to question that understanding. This lively panel will discuss,听critique, and question that evidence.

Mark Silk

Mark Silk听is the director of the Leonard Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life and professor of religion in public life at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Silk served as editor of the听艾可直播 Review听as well as a reporter, editoral writer, and columnist for the听Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is the founding editor of听Religion in the News, a magazine published by the Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life that examines how the news media handle religious subject matter. Silk's publications include:听Spiritual Politics: Religion and America Since World War II听(New York: Simon and Schuster) and听Unsecular Media: Making News of Religion in America听(Urbana: University of Illinois Press). Silk received his A.B from Harvard College and earned his Ph.D. in medieval history from Harvard University.

Peter Skerry

Peter Skerry听is a professor of political science at 艾可直播 College. He was previously professor of political science at Claremont McKenna College, and taught political science at UCLA, where he was Director of Washington Programs at the Center for American Politics and Public Policy.听Skerry鈥檚 writing and research focus on social policy, immigration, and the politics of race, ethnicity, and religion. He is author of听Counting on the Census: Race, Group Identity, and the Evasion of Politics听(Brookings)and听Mexican Americans: The Ambivalent Minority听(Free Press/Harvard University Press), which was awarded the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He is currently completing a study about Muslims in the United States entitled听From the Brotherhood to the Neighborhood: Muslims in American Society and Politics.听听听听听听听

Michael Sean Winters

Michael Sean Winters听is a columnist for the National Catholic Reporter where听听has been published for ten years. He is also the U.S. correspondent for the听Tablet, the international Catholic weekly based in London. Winters is the author of two books:听Left at the Altar: How the Democrats Lost the CatholicsandHow the Catholics Can Save the Democrats听and听God's Right Hand: How Jerry Falwell Made God a Republican and Baptized the American Right. He lives in Hampton, Connecticut.

M. Cathleen Kaveny (moderator)

M. Cathleen Kaveny (moderator)听is the Darald and Juliet Libby Professor of Law and Theology at 艾可直播 College. She is currently working on a book on complicity with wrongdoing, which will draw on theology, philosophy, law, and history to illuminate the moral problems involved in contributing to or benefiting from other peoples' wrongdoing.

Event Photos

Boisi event

Panelists from Left to Right: Cathleen Kaveny (moderator), Mark Silk, Peter Skerry, and Michael Sean Winters

Boisi event
Boisi event

Photos by MTS photography

Event Recap

On October 28, the Boisi Center hosted its last panel event of the fall semester, entitled, 鈥淒o the Democrats Have a Religion Problem?鈥 The panel featured Mark Silk of Trinity College, Peter Skerry of 艾可直播 College, and Michael Sean Winters of the听National Catholic Reporter, with M. Cathleen Kaveny, of 艾可直播 College, moderating.

Kaveny began the discussion by asking the title question, encouraging the panelists to define precisely what that problem is. Silk and Skerry both argued that the Democrats do indeed have a religion problem, approaching their explanation of the problem by describing the ways certain groups traditionally vote. They noted that white, evangelical Protestants overwhelmingly support the Republican Party, while black, Hispanic/Latinx, and non-religious white voters favor the Democratic Party. Silk referred to this difference as the 鈥淕od gap鈥濃攁n ongoing phenomenon that those who attend church services regularly are more likely to vote Republican. Skerry acknowledged the changing American religious landscape, though, noting the increase of those who identify as 鈥渘ones鈥 (meaning, they identify as having no religious affiliation) and who often vote Democrat. Skerry contended that this rising population will become more politically salient since 鈥渘ones鈥 are highly educated and heavily engaged in political activism. Lastly, Skerry pointed out that the Democratic Party has demonstrably offered their support of the 鈥渘ones鈥 and will continue to do so in the future, exacerbating what Silk calls the 鈥淕od gap.鈥

Winters argued, on the other hand, that the Democrats do not have a religion problem. Instead, he believes, the Democrats have a political problem with听religion. Reading the question broadly, Winters pointed out that the Republican Party also has a problem with religion: they contort religion to support their political agenda. However, Winters acknowledged that the perceived problem that Democrats have with religion is of their own making. Winters cited either ignorance of religion or a lack of commitment to their own faith among elite Democrats, 鈥渋ntellectual flabbiness,鈥 and endorsements from large corporations鈥攍ike Planned Parenthood鈥攖hat are perceived as anti-religious in the eyes of the American public. He argued this is all viewed as unreligious behavior and indicative of a 鈥渓ukewarm鈥 faith. Winters concluded by reflecting on how, at least numerically, the Catholic vote is important, but because Catholics mirror the broader culture with regard to political party membership and their views on particular issues, there is no longer a 鈥淐atholic vote鈥 as there once was.听

Kaveny asked if there is a solution to this religion problem. Silk saw that reducing the 鈥淕od gap鈥 was the only path forward. In a similar vein, Skerry hoped that the Democrats would be more tolerant of people with religious views and that they would invest their time in attracting religious voters, especially progressive ones. But such a path forward is not without its challenges.听Distinct from what the Democrats could do to woo religious voters, religious Republican voters, Skerry indicated, are prepared and able to act on their faith because the Republican Party integrates their worldview into their political platform. Winters argued that Catholics need to be more 鈥渟tiff-necked鈥 and consistent on matters of faith, unafraid to speak of the role religion plays in their own lives as their Republican counterparts do.

The panel concluded with a Q&A session in which audience members asked about, among other things, how Israel and the Middle East play into American politics, how the left could realistically integrate religiosity, possible plans to change the role religion plays in politics, and the future of the Catholic Church in light of its deep, internal political division.

Read More

BOOKS:

Killen, Patricia O鈥機onnell and Mark Silk, eds.听Religion and Public Life in the Pacific Northwest: The None Zone. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 2004.听

Silk, Mark.听Spiritual Politics: Religion and America Since WWII. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989.听

Skerry, Peter.听Counting on the Census: Race, Group Identity, and the Evasion of Politics. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, 2000.听

Walsh, Andrew & Mark Silk, eds.听One Nation, Divisible: How Regional Religious Differences Shape American Politics. 听Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008.听

Winters, Michael Sean.听Left at the Altar: How the Democrats Lost the Catholics and How the Catholics Can Save the Democrats. New York: Basic Books, 2008.听

ARTICLES:

Margolis, Michelle F. 鈥淗ow Politics Affects Religion: Partisanship, Socialization, And Religiosity in America.鈥澨The Journal of Politics听80, no.1 (January 2018): 30-43.听

Silk, Mark. 鈥淩eligion and Region in American Public Life.鈥澨Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion听44, no. 3 (September 2005): 265-270.听

Event Video

In the News

The idea of a 鈥淕od Problem鈥 or 鈥渃risis of religion鈥 within the Democratic Party is an especially relevant topic today as devout Christians seek a candidate whose platform aligns with their religious beliefs. Currently, there is the notion that the Republican Party is the party for people that hold religious beliefs鈥攅xemplified by the fact that an overwhelming majority of Evangelical Protestants vote Republican and show unwavering support for the Trump Administration. published in NPR by Tom Gjelten, Democratic candidates such as Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Cory Booker are trying to appeal to religious left and center voters. By recruiting faith advisers to their campaigns, these presidential candidates are attempting to break the stereotype that the Democratic party does not take religious concerns seriously. On Monday, October 28th, the Boisi Center will host a panel discussion that will expand on the relationship between the Democratic Party and faith.