Mediating Religion and Government: Political Institutions and the Policy Process [Paperback]

The study of religion and politics is a strongly behavioral sub-discipline, and within the American context, scholars place tremendous emphasis on its influence on political attitudes and behaviors, resultuing in a better understanding of religion's ability to shape voting patterns, party affiliation, and views of public policy.1. An Institutionalist Perspective on Religion and Politics; Kevin R. den Dulk and Elizabeth A. Oldmixon 2. Political Preferences and Institutional Structures: Religious Advocacy in the US Congress; Michael T. Heaney and Elizabeth A. Oldmixon 3. Religious-Market Interest Groups: Do They Sing with an Upper Class Accent?; J. Tobin Grant, Sandy H. Kim and Robert Velez 4. Religion and Political Parties: Mediation in the Mass Party Era; Brian Calfano 5. Serving God by Shaping Law: Religious Legal Advocacy in the United States; Daniel Bennett 6. Religion in the American Congress: The Case of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1953-2013; James L. Guth 7. The Importance of Religion to Understanding the Modern Presidency; Mark J. Rozell and Harold F. Bass 8. Regulating Religion: Bureaucracies, Faith-Based Organizations, and Constitutional Limits; David K. Ryden 9. Religious Actors in State Political Institutions; Kimberly H. Conger 10. Explaining Religious Violence across Countries: An Institutional Approach; Nilay Saiya 11. Conclusion: Religious Politics, Pluralism and the United States Constitution; Ted G. Jelen

This important new volume injects a much-needed institutionalist perspective into the study of religion and politics, pushing the boundaries of how we study the intersection beyond the usual focus on mass-level political attitudes and behaviors. The book is accessibly written while also having the potential to generate many new and exciting research questions for scholars. - Laura R. Olson, Centennial Professor, Clemson University, USA

This volume addresses an important and under-explorlc