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Who's In and Who's Out: The Politics of Religious Norms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 August 2016

Christopher F. Karpowitz*
Affiliation:
Brigham Young University
J. Quin Monson*
Affiliation:
Brigham Young University
Kelly D. Patterson*
Affiliation:
Brigham Young University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Christopher F. Karpowitz, Brigham Young University, Department of Political Science, Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, 745 SWKT, Provo, UT 84602. E-mail: [email protected]; or to: J. Quin Monson, Brigham Young University, Department of Political Science, Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, 745 SWKT, Provo, UT 84602. E-mail: [email protected]; or to: Kelly D. Patterson, Brigham Young University, Department of Political Science, Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, 745 SWKT, Provo, UT 84602. E-mail: [email protected].
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Christopher F. Karpowitz, Brigham Young University, Department of Political Science, Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, 745 SWKT, Provo, UT 84602. E-mail: [email protected]; or to: J. Quin Monson, Brigham Young University, Department of Political Science, Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, 745 SWKT, Provo, UT 84602. E-mail: [email protected]; or to: Kelly D. Patterson, Brigham Young University, Department of Political Science, Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, 745 SWKT, Provo, UT 84602. E-mail: [email protected].
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Christopher F. Karpowitz, Brigham Young University, Department of Political Science, Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, 745 SWKT, Provo, UT 84602. E-mail: [email protected]; or to: J. Quin Monson, Brigham Young University, Department of Political Science, Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, 745 SWKT, Provo, UT 84602. E-mail: [email protected]; or to: Kelly D. Patterson, Brigham Young University, Department of Political Science, Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, 745 SWKT, Provo, UT 84602. E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract

What are the boundaries for discussing a candidate's religion? In the 2008 and the 2012 presidential campaigns, the religious beliefs and practices of at least one of the candidates became a subject of intense scrutiny from the media and the public. To ascertain the limits of social discourse for religious out-group, we conducted a survey experiment on the 2012 CCES survey. We find strong evidence that norms of social discourse do not apply to all religions equally. Furthermore, the application of norms differs by political party because Democrats and Republicans express concerns about different religious groups. Overall, there is a large difference for Muslims when it comes to social discourse. Finally, individuals have internalized the norms because most of them are willing to sanction those who violate them, even if the norms on social discourse are not applied equally among American voters.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2016 

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