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House Divided? Evangelical Catholics, Mainstream Catholics, and Attitudes toward Immigration and Life Policies

  • David L. Leal

    David L. Leal is Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. His interests include Latino politics, public policy, and religion and politics.

     EMAIL logo     and Jerod Patterson

    Jerod Patterson is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin and holds an M.Div. from Wake Forest University. His academic interests include religion and politics.
Published/Copyright: February 8, 2014
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The Forum
From the journal The Forum Volume 11 Issue 4

Abstract

This article seeks to contribute to the scholarly understanding of both Catholicism and Latino religious beliefs. Our approach is to look within the Catholic category to test whether differing theological approaches have political implications. Using a recent Texas survey with a range of religious questions and an oversample of Latino respondents, we test whether intra-Catholic religious orientations help to structure attitudes toward immigration and life policies for Latinos and Anglos. For each group, we compare two kinds of Catholics – “Evangelical Catholics” (those who report evangelical-charismatic-literalist beliefs) and “Mainstream Catholics” (those who do not). This builds on McDaniel and Ellison’s findings by asking whether ostensibly similar religious beliefs may have different effects by race and ethnicity. Our aggregate data provide some evidence that intra-Catholic differences can influence policy opinions, and that race-ethnicity can play a mediating role.

Corresponding author: David L. Leal, Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin, 158 W 21st Street, A1800, Austin, TX 78712, e-mail:

About the authors

David L. Leal

David L. Leal is Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. His interests include Latino politics, public policy, and religion and politics.

Jerod Patterson

Jerod Patterson is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin and holds an M.Div. from Wake Forest University. His academic interests include religion and politics.

  1. 1

    Nevertheless, Wald (2003) notes that “culture war” arguments are too simplistic to capture the diversity of opinions across and within denominations.

  2. 2

    Green uses data from the 2004 National Survey of Religion and Politics, conducted by the University of Akron. His measure of traditionalism is a composite of responses to questions on the frequency of Bible reading, church attendance, prayer, and participation in devotional groups; views of God, the Bible, life after death, and evolution; and contributions to the church. Those who are most traditional are considered “traditionalists,” those who are least traditional are considered “modernists,” and those in the middle are considered “centrists” (Green 2007, pp. 45–61).

  3. 3

    In Latin America, numerous Catholics consider themselves to be “spirit-filled” or “charismatic,” as Catholicism responds to the rapid growth of Pentecostalism and other charismatic Protestant churches (Jenkins 2002; Pew Forum 2006; Miller and Yamamori 2007; Patterson and Woodberry 2012).

  4. 4

    For research on how Catholic members of Congress follow (or do not follow) Church teaching, see Oldmixon and Hudson (2008).

  5. 5

    Although we might note that if Latino Catholics and Protestants are “more religious than Anglos” (Putnam and Campbell 2010, p. 301), the effect of intra-religious worldview differences might be less for Latinos than Anglos.

  6. 6

    For instance, see the Brookings Institution panel “Religious Activism and the Debate over Immigration Reform.” http://www.brookings.edu/events/2010/0615_immigration_religion.aspx

  7. 7

    “Migration and Refugee Services,” United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. http://www.usccb.org/mrs/bpbarnesmay17.pdf

  8. 8

    For dependent variables with two response options (such as “favor” or “oppose”), we examine the response most consistent with Church teaching (as indicated in the second row of each table). For questions with four response options (such as Strongly support, Somewhat support, Somewhat oppose, or Strongly oppose), we examine the combined responses to the two positions most consistent with Church teaching (unless otherwise indicated; for instance, Table 5 examines the “never” option for the abortion question).

  9. 9

    As we discuss above, we use this term in a different manner than Weigel (2013) intended, although perhaps consistent with a meaning that Cavadini (2013) suggests he may have nevertheless advanced.

The authors would like to acknowledge the Irma Rangel Public Policy Institute and the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin for survey support and assistance.

Appendix A: Question Wording

Policy

Q18. As you may know, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution says that all children born in the United States are automatically US citizens regardless of their parents’ legal status. Would you favor or oppose changing the Constitution to REPEAL this part of the 14th Amendment?

  1. Favor

  2. Oppose

  3. Don’t know

Q19. Some illegal immigrants were brought to Texas as children by their parents. Should these individuals receive in-state tuition rates at Texas public colleges and universities, or should they have to pay the higher tuition rate for out-of-state students?

  1. In-state tuition

  2. Out-of-state tuition

  3. Don’t know

Q32. What should be the priority for US immigration policy? Should it be allowing new immigrants who already have family members living in the US, or allowing new immigrants who already have useful job skills?

  1. Immigrants with family members living in US

  2. Immigrants with useful job skills

  3. Don’t know

Q33. Please indicate your opinion on the following proposals.

Q33a. Passing comprehensive immigration overhaul at the federal level that would provide a pathway to citizenship for most illegal immigrants currently living in the US.

  1. Strongly support

  2. Somewhat support

  3. Somewhat oppose

  4. Strongly oppose

  5. Don’t know

Q33b. Requiring businesses to verify the immigration status of every worker and fine businesses if they are caught intentionally employing illegal immigrants.

  1. Strongly support

  2. Somewhat support

  3. Somewhat oppose

  4. Strongly oppose

  5. Don’t know

Q33c. Requiring law enforcement officials to check someone’s immigration status when they suspect him/her of being in the country illegally.

  1. Strongly support

  2. Somewhat support

  3. Somewhat oppose

  4. Strongly oppose

  5. Don’t know

Q33d. Prohibiting businesses from soliciting laborers at day labor sites.

  1. Strongly support

  2. Somewhat support

  3. Somewhat oppose

  4. Strongly oppose

  5. Don’t know

Q21. What is your opinion on the availability of abortion?

  1. By law, abortion should never be permitted

  2. The law should permit abortion only in case of rape, incest or when the woman’s life is in danger

  3. The law should permit abortion for reasons other than rape, incest, or danger to the woman’s life, but only after the need for the abortion has been clearly established

  4. By law, a woman should always be able to obtain an abortion as a matter of personal choice

  5. Don’t know

Q23. Which of the following best characterizes your opinion on the death penalty for those convicted of violent crimes?

  1. Strongly support

  2. Somewhat support

  3. Somewhat oppose

  4. Strongly oppose

  5. Don’t know

Q24. In some states, it is legal for doctors to prescribe lethal doses of drugs so that a terminally ill patient can commit suicide. Do you approve or disapprove of laws that let doctors assist patients who want to end their lives this way?

  1. Approve

  2. Disapprove

  3. Don’t know

Religion

Do you consider yourself to be a “born again” or “evangelical” Christian?

  1. Yes

  2. No

Do you consider yourself to be a “spirit filled” or “charismatic” Christian?

  1. Yes

  2. No

Which of these statements comes closest to describing your feelings about the Bible?

  1. The Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word.

  2. The Bible is the word of God but not everything in it should be taken literally, word for word.

  3. The Bible is a book written by men and is not the word of God.

How important is religion in your life?

  • Extremely important

  • Somewhat important

  • Not very important

  • Not at all important

Do you consider social justice to be at the heart of the Gospel?

  • Yes

  • No

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Published Online: 2014-02-08
Published in Print: 2013-12-01

©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Masthead
  2. Masthead
  3. Editorial
  4. Introduction
  5. The Catholics and the Others: The Denominational Backdrop to Modern American Politics
  6. House Divided? Evangelical Catholics, Mainstream Catholics, and Attitudes toward Immigration and Life Policies
  7. Catholic Politics in the United States: Challenges in the Past, Present, and Future
  8. The American Catholic Church as a Political Institution
  9. Catholic Partisanship and the Presidential Vote in 2012: Testing Alternative Theories
  10. The Optional Preference? American Catholic Economic Advocacy and the Culture Wars
  11. The Politics of Denying Communion to Catholic Elected Officials
  12. John F. Kennedy and the Irish Catholic Political Tradition
  13. Catholic Social Teaching and American Politics: How Can a Church Contribute to Civic Dialogue in a Liberal Democracy?
  14. The Roman Catholic Church in “Protestant” America Today
  15. Book Reviews
  16. Wilson
  17. Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government
  18. The Substance of Representation: Congress, American Political Development, and Lawmaking
https://doi.org/10.1515/for-2014-0009

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Masthead
  2. Masthead
  3. Editorial
  4. Introduction
  5. The Catholics and the Others: The Denominational Backdrop to Modern American Politics
  6. House Divided? Evangelical Catholics, Mainstream Catholics, and Attitudes toward Immigration and Life Policies
  7. Catholic Politics in the United States: Challenges in the Past, Present, and Future
  8. The American Catholic Church as a Political Institution
  9. Catholic Partisanship and the Presidential Vote in 2012: Testing Alternative Theories
  10. The Optional Preference? American Catholic Economic Advocacy and the Culture Wars
  11. The Politics of Denying Communion to Catholic Elected Officials
  12. John F. Kennedy and the Irish Catholic Political Tradition
  13. Catholic Social Teaching and American Politics: How Can a Church Contribute to Civic Dialogue in a Liberal Democracy?
  14. The Roman Catholic Church in “Protestant” America Today
  15. Book Reviews
  16. Wilson
  17. Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government
  18. The Substance of Representation: Congress, American Political Development, and Lawmaking
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