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The Bishops and Their Flock: John Kerry and the Case of Catholic Voters in 2004

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2008

C. Richard Hofstetter ,
John W. Ayers  and
Robert Perry
C. Richard Hofstetter*
Affiliation:
San Diego State University
John W. Ayers
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Robert Perry
Affiliation:
San Diego State University
*
Address correspondence and reprint request to: C. Richard Hofstetter, Department of Political Science, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-4427. E-Mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

This study evaluates the extent to which the 2004 well publicized Catholic Bishops' warnings and the Church Doctrinal Note mandating that parishioners oppose candidates who supported policies contrary to Church doctrine influenced Catholic support for presidential candidate John Kerry. Data were drawn from a 2004 national survey of 493 Catholic adults using random digit dial procedures and commissioned by Time magazine. Multivariate analyses indicate that the influence of the Bishops' warnings and the Doctrinal Note diverged by respondents' religious belief. Liberal Catholics exposed to these messages were more likely to support Kerry while conservative Catholics exposed to these messages were more likely to support Bush. The net effect of leaders' messages appeared to have helped rather than hurt Kerry. Our findings point to a multiplicity of effects for religious leaders' messages and should provide a note of caution for religious leaders who take pronounced stances on political affairs.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 1 , Issue 3 , December 2008 , pp. 436 - 455
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2008

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Footnotes

We thank Ronald F. King, Department of Political Science, San Diego State University; Paul Djupe, Department of Political Science, Denison University; Antonio Ugues Jr., Department of Political Science, University of California Riverside, and the editors and referees of this journal for helpful comments on earlier versions of this article.

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