Book Reviews : The Evolution of Political Thought. By C. NORTHCOTE PARKINSON. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1958. Pp. 327. $5.00.)

• Date: 01 December 1961
• Author: Currin V. Shields
• DOI: 10.1177/106591296101400436
• Published date: 01 December 1961
• Subject Matter: Articles

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front of the book, eleven are scholars and three are journalists. Surprisingly, only
one practicing politician, Al Smith, is represented among the contributors.
Although the United States Constitution clearly specifies that no religious
test shall be required of any office-holder, this has not precluded the growth of
the tradition that the Presidency was reserved for those of Protestant faith. What
has seemed incongruous is the habit of the American electorate of quietly
choosing a substantial portion of Catholics for lesser offices, while, in substantial
numbers, evincing concern at the prospect of a Catholic for President. Equally
absurd has been the tendency to generalize from the defeat of Al Smith in 1928
that no Catholic could be elected President. Professor Odegard makes it abund-
antly clear in one of his contributions to the volume that Smith’s defeat in 1928
was not due to his religion, and states with prophetic correctness that a Catholic
can now be elected President.
Perhaps the most significant question to which political scientists ought to
address themselves is to what extent the religious affiliation of a voter is a factor
in his political attitudes or voting behavior. In an important chapter entitled
&dquo;Catholicism as a Factor in Elections&dquo; Professor Odegard and three other writers
deal with this question. In a piece published originally in Public Opinion
Quarterly, Wesley and Beverly Allinsmith illuminate important findings from
their research of political attitudes and religious affiliation. In essence, their
finding, well-supported by evidence, is that the occupational status of the mem-
bership of a religious denomination rather than its theology is decisive in deter-
mining the attitude of members toward socio-economic issues. In another selec-
tion in this chapter, Elmo Roper contends that there is no Catholic vote which
can be cast as a bloc for a candidate irrespective of party affiliation.
Professor Odegard has rendered a...