The Influence of Institutional Salience on Political Attitudes and Activism among Catholic Priests in the United States
What motivates clergy political attitudes and behavior? We investigate this using a questions-as-treatment randomized experiment focusing on Roman Catholic priests in the United States. Our results suggest substantial utility in using a question frame referencing the distinct institutional expectati...
| Published in: | Journal for the scientific study of religion |
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| Authors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
[2018]
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| In: |
Journal for the scientific study of religion
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
USA
/ Catholic church
/ Priest
/ Political attitude
/ Political activity
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy CG Christianity and Politics KBQ North America KDB Roman Catholic Church RB Church office; congregation |
| Further subjects: | B
survey experiment
B reference groups B Clergy B Catholic priests |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | What motivates clergy political attitudes and behavior? We investigate this using a questions-as-treatment randomized experiment focusing on Roman Catholic priests in the United States. Our results suggest substantial utility in using a question frame referencing the distinct institutional expectations that clergy regularly confront. Specifically, when randomly primed to consider the expectations of institutional reference groups, clergy exhibit significantly higher levels of conservatism and report higher levels of political engagement, which is in line with their church's institutional preferences more generally. Our findings underscore the need for experimental methodology to make increased inroads into understanding political outcomes in religious contexts. |
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| ISSN: | 1468-5906 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12540 |