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Messages from Above: Conflict and Convergence of Messages to the Catholic Voter from the Catholic Church Hierarchy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 July 2017

Mirya R. Holman  and
Kristin Shockley
Mirya R. Holman*
Affiliation:
Tulane University
Kristin Shockley*
Affiliation:
Florida Atlantic University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Miryan R. Holman, Tulane University, Department of Political Science, Norman Mayer building, 6823 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118. E-mail: mholman@tulane.edu; or to Kristin Shockley, Florida Atlantic University, Department of History, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431. E-mail: kshockle@fau.edu.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Miryan R. Holman, Tulane University, Department of Political Science, Norman Mayer building, 6823 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118. E-mail: mholman@tulane.edu; or to Kristin Shockley, Florida Atlantic University, Department of History, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431. E-mail: kshockle@fau.edu.
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Abstract

The Catholic Church often plays a policy and mobilization role in American politics. We assess the degree to which the Catholic Church hierarchy — including national and state conferences of bishops — can provide uniform information to parishioners about political participation. Using a textual analysis of information distributed to parishioners in Florida in the 2012 election, we evaluate how much political information is conveyed to parishioners, the sources of this information, and the factors associated with higher or lower levels of information. While we find that most parishes provided information related to the election, there is wide diversity in the types and sources of information. And, while the Catholic hierarchy attempted to provide messaging about the importance of political participation, not all parishes complied with these efforts. Our findings are consistent with the ideas that the local community and hierarchical structure combine to shape the behavior of the parishes.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , December 2017 , pp. 840 - 861
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2017 

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Footnotes

Thanks to Grace Deason, Erin Cassese, Ted Jelen, Paul Djupe, Elizabeth Oldmixon, and several anonymous reviewers for their comments on the article and to Garrett Krivicich for his research assistance. This article was previously presented at the 2013 Midwest Political Science Association meeting.

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