102G 2 06

Public Opinion, Race, and Religion: 

Public Opinion, Race, and Religion February 2 Public Opinion and Political Participation

Race and Public Opinion: 

Race and Public Opinion History of racism Shared experiences shapes opinions

Race and Public Opinion: 

Race and Public Opinion Areas of research include: Racial attitudes Differences in opinion across races and ethnicities Public opinion patterns of a particular race or ethnicity

Public Opinion, Race, and Ethnicity: 

Public Opinion, Race, and Ethnicity Race or ethnicity serves as the main independent variable of interest Used to try and predict a wide range of dependent variables

Public Opinion, Race, and Ethnicity: 

Public Opinion, Race, and Ethnicity African American public opinion and differences in the views of “whites” and “blacks” has received the most attention Differences frequently largest

An Example of a GapFrom Page and Shapiro’s The Rational Public: 

An Example of a Gap From Page and Shapiro’s The Rational Public

Latino Public Opinion: 

Latino Public Opinion Study of Latino public opinion in the U.S. relatively new

Latino Public Opinion: 

Latino Public Opinion Researchers in this field face several challenges Low numbers in most surveys of the U.S. as a whole Population heavily concentrated in a handful of states “Latino” encompasses people originally from a number of different countries

Latino Public Opinion: 

Latino Public Opinion Major issue: Is there such a thing as “Latino public opinion?”

Latino Public Opinion: 

Latino Public Opinion “Latino Public Opinion” Carole Jean Uhlaner and F. Chris Garcia Summarizes the state of research on Latino public opinion Raises question “Is there a group of people who share enough characteristics or who have enough of a feeling of identification with one another that they can truly be classified as a distinctive community, in short, a ‘public?’”

The Latino National Political Survey: 

The Latino National Political Survey First major study of Latino public opinion Conducted 1989-1990 3 objectives Find out as much as possible on Latino opinions Establish a baseline of knowledge on Latino views that future studies could build on Establish empirically whether there is such a thing as a national community of Latinos

The Latino National Political Survey: 

The Latino National Political Survey Survey designers faces a number of methodological challenges How to draw an adequate sample of a rare (9% nationally at the time) and scattered population Sample size versus cost How to identify people as Latino National origin? Last name? Self-identification? Language issues No data and experience to draw from in sampling or survey design

The Latino National Political Survey: Sampling Decisions: 

The Latino National Political Survey: Sampling Decisions Sampled only the 3 largest Latino groups Mexican Americans Puerto Ricans Cuban Americans

The Latino National Political Survey: Sampling Decisions: 

The Latino National Political Survey: Sampling Decisions In-person interviews made sample of entire U.S. geographic area too costly BUT recognized sampling only from areas with a high density of Latinos might introduce bias Their solution: any standard metropolitan statistical area with at least 3% Latino population qualified for inclusion Took a sample of those MSAs, that included MSAs with high, medium, and low density Latino populations

Latino Public Opinion?: 

Latino Public Opinion? Some evidence of a perception of a common cultural identity but much less for a common political interest Survey show variations by national origin groups, generational status, and immigration status

Latino Public Opinion?: 

Latino Public Opinion? Latinos appear more optimistic about their own lives, government and economy This confidence may fade by generation They tend to trust government more (especially Cuban Americans) and be less cynical about politics This also may fade by generation

What do Latinos want?: 

What do Latinos want? Uhlaner and Garcia admit that it’s difficult to answer the question since there is so much variation in the Latino population BUT they identify several exceptions Increasing low wages and greater job opportunities receive a higher priority ranking Stronger support for strong, active governments that provide collective benefits

What do Latinos want?: 

What do Latinos want? Support for bilingual education high but varies by citizenship Significant variations in views on immigration

Immigration Controversy: 

Immigration Controversy LNPS report on immigration views created controversy Asked do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “there are too many immigrants coming to the United States” Reported that: 70% of Cuban Americans said yes 75% of Mexican Americans said yes 79% of Puerto Ricans said yes BUT almost know one identified this as the most important problem…

Immigration Controversy: 

Immigration Controversy Generational differences Income differences Regional differences (by state)

What do we know about Latino public opinion?: 

What do we know about Latino public opinion? Considerable diversity of opinions exist among Latinos The opinions of immigrants from South American countries have received little study

Asian Public Opinion: 

Asian Public Opinion The opinions of Asian Americans have received even less study Considerable diversity exists among Asians

Asian Public Opinion: 

Asian Public Opinion Is there such a thing as Asian public opinion? Uhlaner and Garcia’s question about Latinos is a good one to ask about the Asian American population as well. “Is there a group of people who share enough characteristics or who have enough of a feeling of identification with one another that they can truly be classified as a distinctive community, in short, a ‘public?’”

Public Opinion and Religion: 

Public Opinion and Religion Religion serves as the chief independent variable, used to attempt to explain a variety of dependent variables. Studies generally limited to Catholics, Jews, and Protestants, or subgroups of those.

Public Opinion and Religion: 

Public Opinion and Religion Areas of study include: How opinions vary across religions The opinions of members of particular religions How religious beliefs shape political views and voting behavior

Public Opinion and Religion: 

Public Opinion and Religion Jewish Americans tend to be more liberal than Protestants or Catholics on a range of issues including civil liberties, social welfare, and abortion. Catholics tend to be more liberal on some issues than Protestants but the gap is smaller.

Public Opinion and Religion: 

Public Opinion and Religion Some of the recent research areas involving public opinion, politics, and religion involve subgroups drawn mainly from Protestants Research beginning in the 1980s was on the “religious right” Current hot research area involves “evangelical Christians” and/or those “born again”

Influence of Religion on Opinions: 

Influence of Religion on Opinions Pew Research Center for the People and the Press - 2001 Religion and Public Life Survey 2041 respondents

Diversity of views among Protestants: 

Diversity of views among Protestants The Pew Survey shows clear differences in political views between white “mainline” Protestants and those who self-identify as evangelical or born again. White evangelical Protestants: 47% Republicans, 23% Democrats; rest independents White mainline Protestants: 34% Republicans; 34% Democrats; rest independents

Diversity of views among Protestants: 

Diversity of views among Protestants White evangelical Protestants backed Bush over Gore in 2000 by a margin of 68 to 30 White mainline Protestants backed Bush over Gore 53 to 43 White evangelical Protestants backed Bush over Kerry 78 to 21 in 2004 (NEP Exit Poll) White mainline Protestants backed Bush over Kerry 55 to 45 (NEP Exit Poll)

Influence of Religion on Opinions: 

Influence of Religion on Opinions Pew Survey asked Americans’ opinions on 7 public policy issues. It also asked respondents to identify the most important influence on that opinion. The choices were: personal experience, friends/family, media, religious beliefs, education, or something else. 61% said their religious belief was the most important influence for at least 1 of the 7 issues. Among those who report a high level of religious commitment, this percentage increases to 88%

Influence of Religion on Opinions: 

Influence of Religion on Opinions 40% cited religion as the most important influence on their views about gay marriage This percentage increased to 65% among those who oppose gay marriage Among those who oppose physician assisted suicide, 59% cite religious views as most important 42% of those who oppose the death penalty cite religious views as most important This percentage increases to 62% for those who report a high level of religious commitment

Race and Religion:Black Protestant Churches: 

Race and Religion: Black Protestant Churches “This Side of Jordan: Black Churches and Partisan Political Attitudes” Allison Calhoun-Brown “The focus on elections has meant relative neglect of the question of whether personal religiosity and attendance and participation in church also influence the attitudes of African Americans”

African American Protestants and Presidential Elections: 

African American Protestants and Presidential Elections In 2000 Black Protestants voted for Gore over Bush 91 to 7. (VNS Exit Poll) In 2004 Black Protestants voted for Kerry over Bush 86 to 13. (NEP Exit Poll)

The Role of Black Churches: 

The Role of Black Churches Overwhelmingly evangelical Evangelicalism a consistently strong predictor of conservative positions on moral issues “while attending black churches may lead to pro-Democratic political mobilization, it is not safe to assume that attending such churches is associated with the development of liberal opinions on all policy issues.”

The Role of Churches: 

The Role of Churches Calhoun-Brown’s study evaluates the assumption that African American church attendance boosts positive assessments of the Democratic Party, Democratic political figures, and Democrats’ ability to handle national political issues Uses the 1996 National Black Election Study Chief independent variables: attendance of a “political” church and the frequency of church attendance

The Role of Churches: 

The Role of Churches

The Role of Churches: 

The Role of Churches

The Role of Churches: 

The Role of Churches