Issues, voting, and the Christian right

Today scholars are using various forms of James D. Hunter’s culture war theory to explain the impact of religion on electoral behavior. According to the culture war theory, two groups who disagree over moral issues divide the electorate. One group is made up of religious conservatives who are committed to traditional religious beliefs. The other group is made up of religious liberals or secularists that prefer more modern views. The opposing views of these groups on issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and gender roles are used to support this thesis. Previous research, however, indicates voters are too ill-informed about issues to be able to cast a vote on the basis of issues. To test the issue basis of this theory the question: “Do the members of the Christian Right fulfill the requirements of citizens in a representative democracy?” is asked. Before answering the question, the level of support in the general public for the Christian Right is measured, the methodological controversy surrounding the survey questions used to identify the constituency of the Christian Right are reviewed; and the contribution of the major religious groups to the two major party coalitions are examined. Evangelical Protestants are found to be the constituency of the Christian Right. The National Election Studies born-again and biblical authority items are determined to be valid measures for identifying Evangelical Protestants. The religious components of the Democratic and Republican coalition are shown to have changed since the rise of the Christian Right. And, finally, abortion views are found to influence the voting behavior of a little over a majority of Evangelical Protestants.