Paul A. Djupe, Christopher P. Gilbert; The Political Influence of Churches (Cambridge Studies in Social Theory, Religion and Politics)

"Djupe and Gilbert have written an important book on the impact of religion on the politics of individual church members. Rather than viewing religion from afar - as another characteristic held by individuals or another organization to which some individuals belong - they look at it from the inside. They consider the structure of life in churches, and the networks of relationships that connect church members to each other and to the world outside the church. This produces a very sophisticated treatment of the contingent circumstances under which churches make a difference in the politics of church members. By giving primary attention to the patterns of social interaction and communication within churches, the authors produce a masterful analysis that is reminiscent of the classical treatment given to labor union politics by Lipset, Trow, and Coleman in Union Democracy. Political science needs more studies like this one." 
-Robert Huckfeldt, University of California, Davis

"The Political Influence of Churches will be a genuinely seminal book. Djupe and Gilbert combine sophisticated theoretical understandings of religion and of group dynamics with an ambitious research design and resourceful data analysis. The authors' emphasis on the complex social interactions which take place within congregations will change the way in which we think about political learning in religious settings, and will affect future research in religion and politics for years to come." 
-Ted G. Jelen, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

"Paul A. Djupe and Christopher P. Gilbert have written a forceful book that uses state of the art data to show that churches are about more than religion when it comes to politics. They are complex social organisms that support a wide variety of political behaviors, all of which are key to understanding how these people become citizens." 
-Scott D. McClurg, Southern Illinois University

"This book offers path-breaking analysis of how being active in religious life affects Americans' political orientations. Active participation in a religious congregation is perhaps the most widespread form of voluntary association in American society today, and Djupe and Gilbert elucidate exactly how such social networking shapes the way we obtain and use political information. This book is sure to be a seminal work in the literature on religion and politics." 
-Laura Olson, Clemson University

"Paul Djupe and Christopher P. Gilbert have published a series of intriguing papers on the politics of mainline Protestant churches. With this book they show us the full scope of this project, and the result is a volume that political scientists, sociologists, and anyone else who is interested in the political influence of churches needs to read." 
-Clyde Wilcox, Georgetown University

Djupe and Gilbert investigate how membership in organized religious bodies shapes the political life of members. They develop a theoretical framework that captures the multifaceted elements of church life that combine to affect individual political attitudes and actions, emphasizing church membership as an essential element of American civic and political life.

Paul A. Djupe is Associate Professor of Political Science at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. He is the coauthor of Religious Interests in Community Conflict: Beyond the Culture Wars, The Prophetic Pulpit: Clergy, Churches, and Communities in American Politics, and Religious Institutions and Minor Parties in the United States, as well as articles on religion and politics appearing in such journals as American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Politics and Religion, and Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

Christopher P. Gilbert is Professor of Political Science at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. He has written extensively on Minnesota politics, third parties in the United States, and the religious dimensions of American political behavior.

 

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