POLITICS AND MORALITY: THE EFFECT OF RELIGION ON REFERENDA VOTING.

Abstract

This article examines the effect of religion on referenda voting in the U.S. Despite the long-standing tradition in the U.S. of separating church and state, religious groups in this country frequently use the political process to further their own moral beliefs. Contemporary examples are numerous. The Roman Catholic Church has led the opposition to liberalizing abortion, while southern black churches spearheaded the civil rights movement. In many southern states conservative Protestant denominations strongly oppose practices they regard as sinful, including gambling, drinking, pornography and Sunday business. Although policy making via elections differs from the normal processes, the ballot box is not to be ignored for moral issues. Since a number of states provide for the initiative and referendum, we would surely expect public controversies over moral issues to find their way onto various referenda ballots. On such occasions we would expect to find religious groups actively involved in such direct democracy efforts to regulate moral behavior. Considerable support was found for the basic proposition guiding the research--religion does matter and, in fact, is clearly as important in its effect on moral votes as socioeconomic characteristics. Indeed, if Methodists had been included in a measure of religious conservatism, as some have done, no doubt fundamentalism would have emerged as clearly the most powerful influence on these moral issues. Although ruralness and social isolation are often thought to be prime determinants of less progressive social attitudes, in this research effects of such a measure were mixed. For liquor and gambling votes rural isolation was of little consequence when social status was controlled. Apparently for referenda issues of this sort--the typical moral questions--such influences as education, income and occupation are more critical than geography.