The Political Behavior of American Catholics: an Assessment of the Impact of Group Integration Vs. Group Identification
| Author | James M. Penning |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591298804100205 |
| Published date | 01 June 1988 |
| Date | 01 June 1988 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
THE
POLITICAL
BEHAVIOR
OF
AMERICAN
CATHOLICS:
AN
ASSESSMENT
OF
THE
IMPACT
OF
GROUP
INTEGRATION
VS.
GROUP
IDENTIFICATION
JAMES
M.
PENNING
Calvin
College
N
RECENT
years
scholars
have
given
increasing
attention
to
the
poli-
tics
of American
Catholics
(Reichley
1984; Formicola and
Stark
1986;
~Hoffman 1986;
Catholics
Welch
1
986).
Much of
and
attention
has
Hoffman
1986;
Leege
and
Welch
1986).
Much
of
this
attention
has
involved
comparing
the
political
attitudes
and
behavior
of
Catholics
with
those
of
non-Catholics
(Greely
1977;
Lopatto
1985;
Reichley
1984
and
1986).
Attention
has
also
been
given
to
comparing
the
political
attitudes
and
behavior
of
Catholics
over
time
and
to
explaining
variance
in
Catholics’
political
attitudes
and
behavior
(Fee
1976;
Dionne
1981;
Pen-
ning
1986).
Efforts
to
explain
the
political
attitudes
and
behavior
of
American
Catholics
suggest
that
a
variety
of
factors
have
shaped
Catholics’
poli-
tics.
Some
studies
emphasize
the
impact
of
immigration
and
ethnicity,
pointing
out
that
during
the
nineteenth
and
early
twentieth
centuries,
immigrant
Catholics
tended
to
settle
in
Northern
cities
dominated
by
the
Democratic
party
(Dionne
1981;
Lopatto
1985).
There,
a
close
link
be-
tween
the
Democratic
party
and
Catholics
developed,
with
the
party
benefiting
from
Catholic
support
and
Catholics
using
the
party
as
a
tool
to
facilitate
social
assimilation
and
economic
advancement.
Although
these
partisan
ties
have
weakened
over
the
years,
they
continue
to
in-
fluence
American
Catholics
(Hanna
1979;
Kellstedt
1986;
Leege
and
Welch
1986).
A
second
explanation
of
Catholics’
political
attitudes
and
behavior
stresses
the
importance
of
social
class.
This
explanation
suggests
that
American
Catholics,
faced
with
economic
discrimination
by
Protestants,
found
it
exceedingly
difficult
to
prosper
financially.
An
important
con-
sequence
of
this
situation
was
the
attraction
of
Catholics
to
the
Democratic
party,
with
its
relatively
greater
advocacy
of
social
egalitari-
anism
and
welfare-state
liberalism
(Greer
1961;
Greeley
1977).
Finally,
some
studies
have
noted
that
election-specific,
&dquo;short-term&dquo;
variables
such
as
the
presence
of
Catholic
candidates
for
public
office
have
also
had
an
important
impact
on
Catholics’
political
attitudes
and
be-
havior.
For
example,
the
nomination
of
Catholics
Al
Smith
(1928)
and
John
F.
Kennedy
(1960)
as
Democratic
presidential
candidates
may
have
290
strengthened
Catholic-Democratic
Party
ties
both
in
the
short-term
(Con-
verse
1966)
and
in
the
long-term
(Fee
1976).’
i
These
studies
suggest
that
Catholics’
common
group
experiences -
immigration,
poverty,
and
discrimination
-
have
had
an
important
im-
pact
on
their
politics.2
Yet
most
studies
provide
an
incomplete
explana-
tion
of
the
precise
ways
in
which
group-related
variables
affect
Catholics’
political
thought
and
behavior.
In
order
to
increase
our
understanding
of
this
matter,
this
study
focuses
on
two
approaches
to
group
impact -
group
integration
and
group
identification.
The
chief
purpose
is
to
de-
termine
how
well
the
two
approaches
help
us
to
explain
variance
in
Catholics’
political
behavior.
Doing
this
will
increase
our
understanding
of
the
political
impact
of
social
groups
in
general
and
the
Catholic
Church
in
particular.
REVIEW
OF
THE
LITERATURE
Political
scientists
have
long
noted
that
social
and
political
groups
can
influence
political
behavior
(cf.
Campbell,
Converse,
Miller,
and
Stokes
1960;
Bentley
1967).
However,
recently
there
has
been
a
resurgence
of
interest
in
the
political
importance
of
groups
generally
(Conway
1981;
Lau
1983;
Miller,
Gurin,
and
Gurin
1978;
and
Miller,
Gurin, Gurin,
and
Malanchuk
1981)
and
religious
groups
in
particular
(Guth
1981;
Smidt
1985;
Wald
1987).
As
Wald
(1986)
points
out,
religion
is
a
social
phenomenon
since
it
encompasses
social
collectivities.
Thus,
church
members
share
common
experiences
and
may
respond
to
collective
so-
cial
and
political
situations
in
a
similar
fashion.
Furthermore,
through
so-
cialization
processes,
past
group
experiences
may
shape
the
political
attitudes
and
behavior
of
future
generations.
Although
the
idea
that
social
groups
influence
political
behavior
makes
intuitive
sense,
precisely
how
that
influence
occurs
is
the
subject
of
some
dispute,
According
to
Conover
(1985),
two
basic
approaches
have
been
used
recently
to
analyze
group
influence.
The
first
of
these,
the
group
1
Recently,
Leege
and
Welch
(1986)
examined
the
impact
of
a
number
of
additional
varia-
bles
on
Catholics’
political
attitudes.
These
include
political
generation,
regionalism
(political
culture),
gender,
and
foundational
beliefs.
The
authors’
findings
suggest
that
political
generation
and
foundational
beliefs
may
be
particularly
useful
in
helping
to
explain
Catholics’
political
attitudes
and
opinions.
2
According
to
Wald
(1986b),
three
different
sets
of
variables
help
to
explain
the
impact
of
religion
on
political
behavior.
First,
doctrinal/credal
beliefs
can
affect
political
thought
and
behavior.
Thus,
for
example,
some
observers
have
related
the
individualistic
ethic
of
Protestant
theology
to
political
conservatism.
Second,
institutional
variables
can
also
have
important
political
consequences.
The
institutional
church —
its
building,
activi-
ties,
and
personnel —
often
comes
in
contact
with
government
and
at
times
seeks
to
promote
its
self-interest
in
the
public
sector.
Finally,
Wald
points
out
that
religious
denominations
are
social
groups.
Thus,
church
members,
sharing
common
group
heritages
and
experiences,
may
respond
to
collective
social
situations
in
similar
ways.
While
all
three
sets
of
variables
deserve
attention,
this
paper
focuses
primarily
on
the
third
set
—
group
variables.
This
is
done
both
because
of
the
need
to
limit
the
scope
of
the
study
and
because
the
literature
tends
to
concentrate
on
these
variables.
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