Religious Actors in State Political Institutions

Abstract

Much of the attention on religious actors in the United States has centered on the perceived role of religious people and groups in national politics: the African American church in the civil rights movement, the Christian Right in the politics of abortion and other morality issues, and Mainline Protestants in the politics of war. But while these issues and actors may be the most prominent in the thinking of average Americans about the role of religion in politics, the reality is that involvement of religiously motivated groups and individuals in politics is much more prevalent, and perhaps more effective, at the state level. The federal system in the United States grants states wide latitude in decision making about policies and budgets. This provides an attractive avenue for many religious groups to pursue their policy preferences.KeywordsReligious GroupDominant StrategyReligious ActorState PoliticsState LegislatureThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.