18th Annual Student Research Conference
Social Science
The Catholic Vote: Still Relevant?
Stephen A. Huss
Dr. John Quinn, Faculty Mentor
According to previous inquiries, the assimilation of American Catholics into mainstream society, combined with the increased similarity between Catholics and Protestants produced by this assimilation, has caused significant differences in electoral behavior between the two groups to disappear. Catholics and Protestants now behave similarly with regards to partisan attachment and voting. The Catholic/Protestant divide, which dominated American electoral politics in the nineteenth century, and remained significant through the 1960s, particularly in support for the Democratic Party, is no longer evident. Are these accepted conclusions correct? This project attempts to address that question, raising methodological concerns with previous studies and incorporating the most recent data on electoral behavior, to offer surprising answers.
Keywords: electoral, behavior, American, Catholics, Protestants, voting, politics, Democratic
Topic(s):Political Science
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 28-2
Location: VH 1416
Time: 10:00