Campaign 2012: A guide to religion and politics

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The Republican and Democratic presidential tickets are set, with Mitt Romney, a Mormon, heading the GOP slate and Paul Ryan, a Catholic, as his vice presidential pick. That’s the first time the Republican ticket includes no Protestants. They will face President Barack Obama, a Protestant who worships in different churches, and Vice President Joe Biden, a Catholic.

streetsignFaith has been central to American politics for years, and this year’s dynamic is likely to be no different: The two tickets represent a fascinating contrast between a Mormon and a mainline Protestant and between two vice presidential candidates who apply the tenets of their shared Catholic faith in very different ways when it comes to policies.

This edition of ReligionLink provides resources on the candidates, their statements and policies related to faith, and political developments and poll numbers connected to the role of religion in politics.

Updates will also include articles relevant to the intersection of religion and politics in the 2012 presidential campaign.

ReligionLink will regularly update the edition throughout the campaign and will send out periodic notices to subscribers. The campaign is in flux as the issues and the debates evolve almost daily.

Why it matters

The connection between religion and politics – and church and state – is always fraught, and always provides fodder for intense public debate, especially in presidential election years.

These debates also provide valuable snapshots about where the country is headed, religiously and culturally, and about the issues that are important now, and issues that are emerging as flashpoints and areas of consensus.

For example, the 2012 campaign is posing a number of important questions, such as:

  • Can conservative Christian voters in the GOP come to terms with supporting a Mormon candidate? Could a Mormon overcome history and bias against Mormons across the board to win the general election?
  • Do voters care any more that a candidate is a Roman Catholic?
  • How do voters, particularly those who are religious, weigh a candidate’s adherence to his faith’s tenets in deciding whether to support that candidate?
  • Is the “religious right” a relic of the past? Or have social conservatives become more savvy and pragmatic in whom they support for president?
  • Will the growing number of unchurched voters and the “nones” who have no religious belief or preference have an impact?
  • Can Obama project himself as a man of faith and appeal to faith-based voters while also appealing to the religiously unaffiliated bloc?

These questions and more may find answers as the campaigns roll on toward November.

Resources

  • The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life offers extensive resources on religion and politics in the 2012 campaign, including candidate profiles and analyses of current and past trends among religious voters.
  • Romney and Obama discuss their faith in separate interviews in the summer 2012 issue of Cathedral Age magazine, the quarterly publication of Washington National Cathedral.
  • The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, based at Georgetown University, has a website that tracks the religious rhetoric of leading candidates for the 2012 presidential election.

SURVEYS, POLLS

  • The Public Religion Research Institute posts survey findings and other resources pertaining to the election.
  • Gallup conducts daily ballot tracking and other election-related research.
  • Real Clear Politics has poll numbers on the primaries, the candidates, the president and more, updated daily.
  • A December 2011 national survey conducted for The Salt Lake Tribune found that about one in four evangelicals would be uncomfortable voting for a Mormon, even though they and Mormons think alike on many social issues.

ARTICLES AND WEB POSTS

National sources

Regional sources

Northwest Northeast Northwest West Southwest Midwest South Southeast East
  • Randall Balmer is a religion professor at Barnard College in New York City and an ordained Episcopal priest. His many books include The Making of Evangelicalism: From Revivalism to Politics and Beyond (2010) and God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush. Contact 212-854-3292, rbalmer@barnard.edu.
  • David E. Campbell is the John Cardinal O’Hara, C.S.C., Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame and founding director of its Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy. Campbell, a Mormon, has said that Romney’s Mormonism is likely to be a liability politically, but one the candidate can overcome. Campbell is co-author of American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us (2010) and editor of A Matter of Faith: Religion in the 2004 Presidential Election. Contact 574-631-7809, dave_campbell@nd.edu.
  • Mark Chaves is a professor of sociology and religion at Duke University and the author of American Religion: Contemporary Trends (2011). He says Americans want their religious leaders to be less involved in politics. Contact 919-660-5783, mac58@soc.duke.edu.
  • Michael Cromartie is vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., and director of its Evangelicals in Civic Life program. His books include, as editor, Religion and Politics in America: A Conversation. Contact 202-682-1200, crom@eppc.org.
  • John Green is director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics and Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Akron in Ohio. He is also a senior fellow in religion and American politics at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Green is one of the foremost experts on religion and politics. Contact 330-972-5182 or 202-419-4588, green@uakron.edu.
  • Stephen Prothero is a religion professor at Boston University and a best-selling author. His books include Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know — and Doesn’t and God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World — and Why Their Differences Matter. Prothero can discuss how religion will influence voters’ choices and how the candidates’ religious affiliation can be expected to inform their policy decisions. Contact 617-353-4426, prothero@bu.edu.
  • Robert D. Putnam is the Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University and founder of the Saguaro Seminar, a program that aims to foster civic engagement in America. Putnam has written numerous books, including (as co-author)  American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us (2010). Contact 617-495-1148, robert_putnam@harvard.edu.
  • The Rev. Thomas J. Reese is a Jesuit priest and former editor in chief of America magazine. He writes and comments widely on Catholics and politics. He is a senior research fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. Contact 202-687-3532, TR89@georgetown.edu.
  • Mark J. Rozell is a professor of public policy at George Mason University in Arlington, Va., and his research includes conservative Christian politics. His books include, as co-editor, Religion and the American Presidency (Jan. 31, 2012) and Catholics and Politics: The Dynamic Tension Between Faith & Power. Contact 703-993-8171, mrozell@gmu.edu.
  • Mark Silk is professor of religion in public life at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. He runs the Spiritual Politics blog, and his books include (as co-author) One Nation, Divisible: How Regional Religious Differences Shape American Politics (updated recently with new material about Obama’s presidency). Silk co-wrote a scholarly paper that examined evangelicals’ role in Romney’s unsuccessful 2008 bid for the GOP nomination. The situation this year may be different, he told The Salt Lake Tribune (scroll down in the article). Contact 860-297-2352, mark.silk@trincoll.edu.
  • Corwin Smidt is a political science professor at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., and director of the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics. He has studied religion’s role in promoting civic responsibility; evangelicals within American electoral politics; and clergy and politics. His books include, as co-author, The Disappearing God Gap?: Religion in the 2008 Presidential Election (2010). Contact 616-526-6233, smid@calvin.edu.
  • Robert Wuthnow teaches sociology and directs the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University. His books include Red State Religion: Faith and Politics in America’s Heartland (2011). Contact wuthnow@princeton.edu.

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

  • Thomas J. Carty is an associate professor of American studies at Springfield College in Springfield, Mass., whose research focuses on religion and politics. He is the author of A Catholic in the White House?: Religion, Politics and John F. Kennedy’s Presidential Campaign. Contact 413-748-3646, thomas_carty@spfldcol.edu.
  • Michele Dillon is a sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. She has written on the issue of abortion and Catholics, and on the connection between Catholic identity and behavior. She also explores attitudes among rural Americans, particularly regional differences, regarding gays, abortion and other issues. She wrote Catholic Identity: Balancing Reason, Faith and Power. Contact 603-862-2500, michele.dillon@unh.edu.
  • Judith Dushku is an associate professor of goverment at Suffolk University in Boston and a Mormon feminist. She has criticized Romney’s leadership style in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Contact 617-573-8129, jdushku@suffolk.edu.
  • Walton Brown Foster is a political science professor at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, where she teaches a course on religion and politics. Contact 860-832-2961, brownw@ccsu.edu.
  • J. Bryan Hehir is the Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is an expert on religion and American society, and he teaches a course on religion and politics. Contact 617-384-7776, bryan_hehir@harvard.edu.
  • The Rev. David Hollenbach holds the University Chair in Human Rights and International Justice in the theology department at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass. He specializes in Christian ethics and can speak about how Catholics translate their beliefs into political action. Books he has written include The Global Face of Public Faith: Politics, Human Rights and Christian Ethics. Contact 617-552-8855, david.hollenbach@bc.edu.
  • Dale Kuehne is a political science professor at St. Anselm College, a Benedictine school in Manchester, N.H., whose interests include Christianity and politics. He is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church of America and is writing a book tentatively called Standing on the Threshold of an Inconceivable Age: Christianity, Politics and Sexuality in the 21st Century. Contact 603-222-4108, dkuehne@anselm.edu.
  • Alan Wolfe is a political science professor and director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College. He wrote about myths and realities of religion in politics for the book Red and Blue Nation?: Characteristics and Causes of America’s Polarized Politics. Contact 617-552-1862, alan.wolfe@bc.edu.

IN THE EAST

  • Sister Mary E. Bendyna is a research associate for the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She is an expert on the Catholic Church and religion and politics. Contact 202-687-8080, bendynam@georgetown.edu.
  • Louis H. Bolce teaches a course on religion and politics at Baruch College in New York City. Bolce’s research interests include what he calls the anti-Christian fundamentalist factor in contemporary politics, and he and Gerald De Maio (also at Baruch College) are working on a book about the rise of secularist influence in the Democratic Party. Contact 646-312-4416, Louis.Bolce@baruch.cuny.edu.
  • Shaun Casey is professor of Christian ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary, a United Methodist school in Washington, D.C. His specialties include religion’s role in presidential elections. Contact 202-885-8672, scasey@wesleyseminary.edu.
  • John J. DiIulio Jr. is a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He was the first director of the White House faith-based initiative begun by President George W. Bush in 2001 and has advised presidential hopefuls in both parties. DiIulio writes and comments extensively on Catholics in political life. Contact 215-898-7641 (department).
  • Susan B. Hansen is a political science professor at the University of Pittsburgh and the author of Religion and Reaction: The Secular Political Challenge to the Religious Right (2011). Contact sbhansen@pitt.edu.
  • Melissa Harris-Lacewell is an associate professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University. Her research interests include African-American politics and religion, and she is the author of Barbershops, Bibles and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought. Contact 609-258-9171, lacewell@princeton.edu.
  • Andrew R. Murphy is an associate professor of political science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. He co-edited the book Religion, Politics and American Identity: New Directions, New Controversies. Contact 732-932-6733, armurphy@polisci.rutgers.edu.
  • Richard Ostling is a former senior correspondent for Time magazine and religion writer for The Associated Press. Ostling co-authored the book Mormon America: The Power and the Promise and is an expert on the history of Mormonism and how the religion might influence the policies of a Mormon president. Contact through publicist Suzanne Wickham, 818-389-4512, suzanne.wickham@harpercollins.com.
  • Jeffrey Stout, a religion professor at Princeton University, is the author of Democracy and Tradition. Contact 609-258-4485, stout@princeton.edu.
  • George Weigel is a Catholic theologian and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. He appeared in a documentary, Nine Days That Changed the World, that Gingrich and his wife made about Pope John Paul II’s role in liberating Poland from communism. Weigel can discuss Gingrich’s admiration for the late pontiff. Contact through Stephen P. White, 202-715-3512, swhite@eppc.org.
  • Clyde Wilcox is a government professor at Georgetown University whose research interests include religion and politics. He has co-authored and co-edited a number of books on the topic. Contact 202-687-5273, wilcoxc@georgetown.edu.
  • Michael Sean Winters writes for the National Catholic Reporter and the international Catholic weekly The Tablet and is a visiting fellow at the Catholic University of America’s Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies. Winters is the author of Left at the Altar: How the Democrats Lost the Catholics and How the Catholics Can Save the Democrats. Contact mswkna@aol.com or through publicist Darcy Cohan, 415-477-4401, darcy.cohan@harpercollins.com.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

  • Allison Calhoun-Brown is an associate professor of political science at Georgia State University. Her research and teaching interests include public opinion, religion and politics, and African American politics, and she is co-author of Religion and Politics in the United States (2010).  Contact 404-413-2067, acalhounbrown@gsu.edu.
  • Charles W. Dunn is Distinguished Professor of Government at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va. He edited The Future of Religion in American Politics (2009). Contact cwdunn@regent.edu.
  • David P. Gushee is Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and director of the Center for Theology and Public Life at Mercer University in Atlanta. He wrote The Future of Faith in American Politics: The Public Witness of the Evangelical Center and edited Christians and Politics Beyond the Culture Wars: An Agenda for Engagement. Contact 678-547-6457, gushee_dp@mercer.edu.
  • Robert Oldendick is a political science professor at the University of South Carolina and director of its Institute for Public Service and Policy Research. He has said that in the general election, the “faith factor” may grab some attention, but it won’t change how people vote. Contact 803-777-8156, oldendick-bob@sc.edu.
  • Laura Olson is a political science professor at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C. Olson has studied the role of clergy in politics, and her books include, as co-author, Women With a Mission: Gender, Religion and the Politics of Women Clergy, and, as author, Filled With Spirit and Power: Protestant Clergy in Politics. Contact 864-656-1457, laurao@clemson.edu.
  • Political scientist Michael Leo Owens studies the intersection of politics, religion and social welfare, especially black church involvement in government programs. He is an assistant professor in the political science department and a faculty associate of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University in Atlanta. He is author of God and Government in the Ghetto: The Politics of Church-State Collaboration in Black America and numerous articles and essays on political mobilization by congregations in the United States. Contact 404-727-9322, mowens4@emory.edu.
  • Michael J. Perry is Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law at Emory University in Atlanta and specializes in the role of religion in politics. His books include The Political Morality of Liberal Democracy (2009). Contact 404-712-2086, mperry@law.emory.edu.
  • Steven M. Tipton is a professor of the sociology of religion at Emory University in Atlanta. He researches American religion and politics, and the sociology of morality. Contact 404-727-6333, stipton@emory.edu.
  • Kenneth D. Wald is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He is co-author of Religion and Politics in the United States (2010) and co-editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on religion, politics and social theory. Wald is on sabbatical for the 2011-12 academic year but can be reached by email. Contact kenwald@ufl.edu.
  • Dave Woodard is a political science professor at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C., who has served as a consultant to Republican candidates. He has said that Romney’s Mormonism is likely to be an issue among evangelicals in the South Carolina primary. Contact 864-656-3551.
  • David Yamane is an associate professor and chair of the department of sociology at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. An expert on Catholics in the postwar years, he wrote The Catholic Church in State Politics: Negotiating Prophetic Demands and Political Realities, a study of the function of Catholic bishop conferences in state legislative politics. Contact 336-758-3260, yamaned@wfu.edu.

IN THE SOUTH

  • John M. Bruce is an associate professor of political science at the University of Mississippi. He can discuss religion’s intersection with electoral politics, voting and public opinion, and parties and coalitions. Contact 662-915-7218, jbruce@olemiss.edu.
  • Steven P. Brown is associate professor of political science at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., where he specializes in religion and politics. Contact 334-844-6154, brown32@auburn.edu.
  • Mark Hulsether is a professor of religious studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and director of its Interdisciplinary Program in American Studies. He wrote Religion, Culture and Politics in the Twentieth-Century United States. Contact 865-974-2466, mhulseth@utk.edu.
  • Penny Long Marler is a sociologist of religion at Samford University, Birmingham, Ala. She has tracked contemporary trends in religious behavior and has written about the attitudes of young adult Catholics. Contact 205-726-2869, plmarler@samford.edu.
  • Wilfred M. McClay holds the SunTrust Bank Chair of Excellence in Humanities at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and is a widely published author on issues related to religion in America. He co-edited Religion Returns to the Public Square: Faith and Policy in America. Contact 423-425-5202, Bill-McClay@utc.edu.
  • Mark Pryor is a Democratic U.S. senator from Arkansas. He partially credits his election to the advice of a political consultant who told him to never give a speech without quoting the Bible. He has said Democrats have trouble with people of faith. Contact 202-224-2353.
  • C. Melissa Snarr is an associate professor of ethics and society at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. Her interests include Christian political thought and modern Islamic political movements. Contact 615-323-3965, melissa.snarr@vanderbilt.edu.

IN THE MIDWEST

  • Kevin den Dulk teaches a course on religion and politics at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., and co-authored Religion and Politics in America: Faith, Culture and Strategic Choices. Contact 616-331-2991, dendulkk@gvsu.edu.
  • Paul Djupe teaches a course on religion and politics at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and co-edits the Cambridge journal Politics & Religion. His books include (as co-author) The Political Influence of Churches (2009)  and (as co-editor) the Encyclopedia of American Religion and Politics. Contact 740-587-6310, djupe@denison.edu.
  • Russell Arben Fox is an associate professor and director of the political science program at Friends University in Wichita, Kan. Fox, who edits book reviews for Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, can discuss the intersection of Mormonism and civil religion in America. Contact 316-295-5827, foxr@friends.edu.
  • Timothy R. Johnson is a political science professor at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis-St. Paul. His books include, as co-author, Religious Institutions and Minor Parties in the United States. He wrote the entry on Roe v. Wade for the Encyclopedia of American Religion and Politics. Contact 612-625-2907, trj@umn.edu.
  • Mark Noll is Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame and specializes in the intersection of religion and politics. He is co-founder of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College, and his books include God and Race in American Politics: A Short History. Contact 574-631-7574, Mark.Noll.8@nd.edu.
  • Vincent J. Miller is a professor of Catholic theology at the University of Dayton. Miller is an expert on religion and politics and the Catholic Church’s role in politics and public policy. Contact 937-229-4564, vmiller1@udayton.edu.
  • Brendan Sweetman is a philosophy professor at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Mo., and the author of Why Politics Needs Religion: The Place of Religious Arguments in the Public Square. Contact brendan.sweetman@rockhurst.edu.
  • Paul J. Weithman is a philosophy professor at Notre Dame University and author of Religion and the Obligations of Citizenship. Contact 574-631-5182, weithman.1@nd.edu.
  • Gleaves Whitney is director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., and co-editor of Religion and the American Presidency (Jan. 31, 2012). Contact 616-331-2770, whitneyg@gvsu.edu.
  • Rhys H. Williams is professor and chair of the sociology department at Loyola University Chicago. His research focuses on the intersection of politics, religion and social movements in American culture. Contact 773-508-3459, rwilliams7@luc.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

  • Philip Barlow holds the Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at Utah State University. During his days as a graduate student, Barlow was a top aide to Mormon Bishop Romney. Contact 797-3406, philip.barlow@usu.edu.
  • Ravi Batra is an economics professor at Southern Methodist University and author of The New Golden Age: The Coming Revolution Against Political Corruption and Economic Chaos. Batra says journalists should investigate such issues as how political corruption creates poverty and how politicians exploit religion to get elected and then adopt policies to benefit themselves and the wealthy. Contact 214-768-1821, rbatra@smu.edu.
  • Craig Blomberg is Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary. His research interests include Mormonism, and he has been active in evangelical-Mormon dialogue. Contact craig.blomberg@denverseminary.edu.
  • Kimberly Conger is an instructor in the political science department at Colorado State University. She has studied the influence of religious conservatives in state Republican parties and is the author of The Christian Right in Republican State Politics (2009). Contact kimberly.conger@colostate.edu.
  • Charles Curran is Elizabeth Scurlock University Professor of Human Values at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He specializes in moral theology, social ethics and the role of the church as a moral and political actor in society. Contact 214-768-4073, ccurran@smu.edu.
  • Allen Hertzke is Presidential Professor of Political Science at the University of Oklahoma. His books include, as co-author, the comprehensive text Religion and Politics in America: Faith, Culture and Strategic Choices (fourth edition, 2010). Contact 405-325-4713, ahertzke@ou.edu.
  • Ted G. Jelen is a political science professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He follows religion and politics, including the participation of the Catholic Church and the role abortion politics plays. His many books include, as co-editor, Religion and Politics in Comparative Perspective: The One, the Few and the Many. Contact 702-895-3355, jelent@unlv.nevada.edu.
  • William Martin is Harry and Hazel Chavanne Emeritus Professor of Religion and Public Policy at Rice University in Houston. Martin is Chavanne Senior Fellow for Religion and Public Policy at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice. His interests include the impact of religious fundamentalism on politics. He wrote With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America. Contact 713-348-3481, wcm@rice.edu.
  • Deborah R. McFarlane is a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. She co-wrote The Politics of Fertility Control: Family Planning & Abortion Policies in the American States. Contact 505-277-7130, dmcf@unm.edu.
  • The Rev. Robin Meyers is a United Church of Christ pastor, syndicated columnist and professor of rhetoric at Oklahoma City University. Books he has written include Why the Christian Right Is Wrong: A Minister’s Manifesto for Taking Back Your Faith, Your Flag, Your Future. Contact 405-842-8897, rmeyers@okcu.edu.
  • J. Matthew Wilson is a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas whose interests include religion and politics. He edited From Pews to Polling Places: Faith and Politics in the American Religious Mosaic. Contact 214-768-4054, jmwilson@smu.edu.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

  • Joanna Brooks teaches American literature at San Diego State University. She also writes about religion and culture for religiondispatches.org and has been recognized for her writing on Mormons. Contact 619-594-8438, jmbrooks@mail.sdsu.edu.
  • Richard L. Bushman is Howard W. Hunter Visiting Professor of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University in Southern California. Bushman, whose books include Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, can discuss the LDS church founder’s 1844 run for the U.S. presidency and how that history plays into Mormon involvement in politics today. Contact richard.bushman@gcu.edu.
  • David Gutterman is an associate professor of politics at Willamette University in Salem, Ore., where he teaches a course on religion and politics. Gutterman co-edited the book Religion, Politics and American Identity: New Directions, New Controversies. Contact 503-370-6716, dgutterm@willamette.edu.
  • Drew Halfmann is an associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Davis, and an expert on the politics of social policies dealing with health and reproduction. Contact (email preferred)  dhalfmann@ucdavis.edu.
  • Kristin E. Heyer is an associate professor in the religious studies department at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif. She co-edited Catholics and Politics: The Dynamic Tension Between Faith & Power. Contact 408-551-3000 ext. 4758, kheyer@scu.edu.
  • Michael Horan is a theologian at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles who can relate Catholic beliefs to Catholic practice, particularly in the political realm. Contact 310-338-2755, mhoran@lmu.edu.
  • Patrick Mason is a professor of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University in Southern California. He has talked about the theological reasons for evangelicals’ discomfort with Romney. Contact patrick.mason@cgu.edu.
  • Barbara A. McGraw is professor of social ethics, law and public life at St. Mary’s College of California and director of its Center for Engaged Religious Pluralism. Her research interests include legal issues surrounding religion in politics, and she is the author of Rediscovering America’s Sacred Ground: Public Religion and Pursuit of the Good in a Pluralistic America. Contact 925-377-0333, bmcgraw9@mac.com.
  • The Rev. Thomas P. Rausch is a professor of Catholic theology at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. He can comment on various aspects of Catholic political life, including efforts to forge bonds with Christian conservatives. He wrote Being Catholic in a Culture of Choice and edited Catholics and Evangelicals: Do They Share a Common Future? Contact 310-338-7670, trausch@lmu.edu.
  • John E. Seery is a professor of politics at Pomona College in California, where one of his areas of specialty is abortion politics. Contact 909-607-2458, john.seery@pomona.edu.
  • Chris Soper is a political science professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. He holds an M.Div. and teaches a course on religion and politics. Soper’s books include Evangelical Christianity in the United States and Great Britain: Religious Beliefs, Political Choices. Contact 310-506-4792, chris.soper@pepperdine.edu.

 

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