Catholic Politics in the United States: Challenges in the Past, Present, and Future
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Ted G. Jelen
Ted G. Jelen is Professor of Political Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has published extensively on the interaction of religion and politics and is the former editor of theJournal for the Scientific Study of Religion and ofPolitics and Religion. 
Abstract
Throughout the history of the US, the Catholic Church has occupied a variety of political roles. This essay identifies three distinctive periods of Catholic politics: An era in which US Catholicism represented a primarily “immigrant” church (approximately from the mid-19th century to World War II), a period of assimilation and acculturation (roughly 1945–1980), and a period of integration into the dominant partisan and ideological cleavages of American politics (approximately 1980 to the present). Each of these eras was characterized by a distinctive pattern of interaction among the American Catholic laity, the organized Roman Catholic hierarchy in the US, and the Vatican.
About the author
Ted G. Jelen is Professor of Political Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has published extensively on the interaction of religion and politics and is the former editor of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion and of Politics and Religion.
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It should be noted that evangelical Protestants have made substantial inroads in this most recent group of immigrants.
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It is important to note that, on certain controversial issues not related to religious practice or sexual morality, lay opinion has been responsive to Church teachings. These would include the death penalty (Bjarnason and Welch 2004) and defense spending (Wald 1992). It is also perhaps noteworthy that there appear to be very few Catholics who hold attitudes consistent with Catholic moral teachings across diverse specific issues (Jelen 2005).
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Although Pope John Paul was routinely included on various lists of “most admired persons,” I am not aware of any empirical research which connects personal approval of John Paul to more generalized acceptance of the Papacy. The results of such a study would be very interesting, and of direct relevance to the political influence of subsequent Popes in the US.
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©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorial
- Introduction
- The Catholics and the Others: The Denominational Backdrop to Modern American Politics
- House Divided? Evangelical Catholics, Mainstream Catholics, and Attitudes toward Immigration and Life Policies
- Catholic Politics in the United States: Challenges in the Past, Present, and Future
- The American Catholic Church as a Political Institution
- Catholic Partisanship and the Presidential Vote in 2012: Testing Alternative Theories
- The Optional Preference? American Catholic Economic Advocacy and the Culture Wars
- The Politics of Denying Communion to Catholic Elected Officials
- John F. Kennedy and the Irish Catholic Political Tradition
- Catholic Social Teaching and American Politics: How Can a Church Contribute to Civic Dialogue in a Liberal Democracy?
- The Roman Catholic Church in “Protestant” America Today
- Book Reviews
- Wilson
- Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government
- The Substance of Representation: Congress, American Political Development, and Lawmaking
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorial
- Introduction
- The Catholics and the Others: The Denominational Backdrop to Modern American Politics
- House Divided? Evangelical Catholics, Mainstream Catholics, and Attitudes toward Immigration and Life Policies
- Catholic Politics in the United States: Challenges in the Past, Present, and Future
- The American Catholic Church as a Political Institution
- Catholic Partisanship and the Presidential Vote in 2012: Testing Alternative Theories
- The Optional Preference? American Catholic Economic Advocacy and the Culture Wars
- The Politics of Denying Communion to Catholic Elected Officials
- John F. Kennedy and the Irish Catholic Political Tradition
- Catholic Social Teaching and American Politics: How Can a Church Contribute to Civic Dialogue in a Liberal Democracy?
- The Roman Catholic Church in “Protestant” America Today
- Book Reviews
- Wilson
- Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government
- The Substance of Representation: Congress, American Political Development, and Lawmaking
