Description

After the reelection of George W. Bush in 2004, the "God Gap" became a hotly debated political issue. Religious voters were seen as the key to Bush's victory, and Democrats began scrambling to reach out to them. Four years later, however, with the economy in a tailspin on election day, religion barely seemed to register on people's radar screens. In this book, a team of well-regarded scholars digs deeper to examine the role religion played in the 2008 campaign. They take a long view, placing the election in historical context and looking at the campaign as a whole, from the primaries through all the way through election day. At the heart of their analysis is data gleaned from a national survey conducted by the authors, in which voters were interviewed in the spring of 2008 and then re-interviewed after the election.

Features

• - Takes a long view of religion's role in the 2008 election, including the pre-election season and the comprehensive history of American voting
• - Examines competing analyses of how religion affects American politics

Reviews

"This fine new book offers a thorough and timely analysis of the role of religion in the 2008 presidential election. It also contextualizes religion's role in this history-making election, illustrating in many ways that the more things change, the more they truly do stay the same: religious traditionalists remained solidly Republican despite increased efforts on the part of the Democrats to reach out to people of faith. This book will be of interest to anyone interested in religion and politics political parties, or elections in the United States."

--Laura R. Olson, Professor of Political Science, Clemson University

Product Details

288 pages; 6-1/8 x 9-1/4; ISBN13: 978-0-19-973471-9ISBN10: 0-19-973471-2

About the Author(s)