Corwin Smidt

Calvin College, Political Science, Faculty Member

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I am a Professor of Political Science, emeritus, at Calvin University. My primary area of research relates to religion and politics. I am a past President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. I have authored and co-authored a number of different books, edited volumes, and scholarly articles.

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Papers by Corwin Smidt

Pews, Prayers, and Participation: Religion and Civic Responsibility in America

Journal of Church and State, 2009

... of Washington Chris Soper, Pepperdine University Geoff Layman, University of Maryland Clyde W... more

The Bully Pulpit: The Politics of Protestant Clergy

Review of Religious Research, Dec 1, 1998

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The Bully Pulpit: The Politics of the Protestant Clergy

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Sep 1, 1999

When Democrats lost control of Congress in 1994, the Christian Right claimed a major role in thei... more When Democrats lost control of Congress in 1994, the Christian Right claimed a major role in their defeat and House Speaker Newt Gingrich credited the "organized Christian vote" with the Republican victory. Ministers from many political persuasions have long been active in American politics, but in the 1980s and 1990s it has seemed impossible to find any political controversy that did not involve the clergy-often on both sides of the issue. "The Bully Pulpit" is the first major study of clergy politics in more than twenty years. Drawing on two decades of survey research involving thousands of ministers nationwide, five social scientists explore the political lives of clergy in eight evangelical and mainline Protestant denominations, including the Assemblies of God, Southern Baptist Convention, United Methodist Church, and Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. They find that the competing theological perspectives of orthodoxy and modernism are increasingly tied to ideological and partisan divisions in American politics. In addressing the nature and extent of clerical participation, The Bully Pulpit asks the following questions: How do different groups of ministers see their role in politics? What activities do they approve or disapprove? How active are Protestant clergy in politics? What factors account for the level and kinds of participation? Do the patterns of clerical activism discovered in the 1960s and 1970s persist today? The authors discover that theological traditionalists emphasize moral reform and tend to specialize in making pronouncements in religious settings, while modernists stress social justice issues and engage in a wider range of political activities, inside and outside the church. They find that "New Breed" liberals have continued the mainline Protestant activism of the 1960s and '70s, but that Christian Right activists have become just as numerous, drawn from the ranks of previously inactive evangelical clergy. Their book offers a balanced assessment of political activity among both clergy at the end of the century and helps us understand the current relationship between church and state in America.

Religious Voting Blocs in the 1992 Election: The Year of the Evangelical?*

Routledge eBooks, Nov 1, 2021

This article examines the political alignment and voting behavior of major Arnerican reli~ous tra... more This article examines the political alignment and voting behavior of major Arnerican reli~ous traditions in 1992. We discover that evangelical Protestants solidified their growing Republican proclivities of recent decades, becoming a co, re voting bloc within the GOP coal/t/on. Main/ine Protestants, trad" tionally at the center of the Republican parry , deserted President Bush in large ntanbers for Clinton and Perot, while many Catholic voters returned to their former Democratic dle~ance. The exparding bloc of secular voters provided strong additional support for Democratic candida~ and liberal policies. In condusion, we speculate on the emergence of a &'fferent kind of ethnoreli~~us alignment in electoral politics.

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A Review of “Faith & the Presidency: From George Washington to George W. Bush”

Congress & the presidency, Sep 1, 2011

several instances in which useful alliances with Republicans such as Tom Davis and Tom Bliley (bo... more several instances in which useful alliances with Republicans such as Tom Davis and Tom Bliley (both of Virginia) led to major bills becoming law. No book, including Waxman’s, is without its weaknesses. Waxman glosses over some of the most intriguing moments of his career, such as how he managed to replace the powerful chair-apparent of the Energy and Commerce committee, John Dingell, in an unexpected coup d’etat after the 2008 elections. He also seems naively convinced that explaining how Congress works will change the institution’s reputation, when in fact it is often over-exposure to the inner politics of Congress that turns off the public (a prime example being the consideration of health care legislation in 2009–2010). Most important, Waxman’s own narrative suggests strong qualifications to any claim that public hearings are a reliable legislative tool. For instance, he notes that a hearing’s impact can be remarkably short in duration, even if the witness is a media star, and that a hearing can be difficult to control and may even head in a counterproductive direction. Nonetheless, The Waxman Report offers a well-written, approachable narrative that tells us a good deal about politics in the United States Congress. It is certainly suitable for an undergraduate course on Congress, particularly as a means of introducing such concepts as action in [the] public sphere and the “politics of inclusion.” But the book is also recommended for anyone interested in policy history, Waxman’s career, or Congress more generally. It is one of the few enjoyable congressional autobiographies in an otherwise bleak field.

Francis, Leslie J., and Hans-Georg Ziebertz, eds. (2011). The Public Significance of Religion. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978 90 04 20706 6

Journal of Empirical Theology, 2012

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Religion and Civic Engagement: A Comparative Analysis

Annals of The American Academy of Political and Social Science, Sep 1, 1999

This study examines the relationship between religious involvement and civic engagement in a comp... more This study examines the relationship between religious involvement and civic engagement in a comparative, cross-cultural perspective. Using data from a 1996 survey of 3000 Canadians and 3000 Americans, the study assesses religion's relative contribution to civic engagement in the two settings. The study reveals that both religious tradition and, more important, church attendance play an important role in fostering involvement in civil society in both countries, even after controlling for the effects of other factors generally associated with fostering civic activity among members of society.

The Disappearing God gap?: religion in the 2008 presidential election

Choice Reviews Online, Sep 1, 2010

... politics. It is clear that churches continue to be, at least for some traditions, particularl... more

The Politics of Religion in America

American Politics Quarterly, Jul 1, 1988

This article seeks (1) to bring some coherence to a growing, but rather disparate, volume of “rel... more This article seeks (1) to bring some coherence to a growing, but rather disparate, volume of “religion and politics” research, and (2) to chart some directions for future research. Given the vast nature of the field of inquiry, the focus of the discussion is limited specifically to behavioral studies of the role of religion in American political life.

The Social Service Activities of Religious Congregations in America

Review of Faith & International Affairs, Sep 1, 2009

ABSTRACT The social service activities of religious congregations reflect the dynamic relationshi... more ABSTRACT The social service activities of religious congregations reflect the dynamic relationship between church and state in the United States. Examining congregations in particular is helpful because of their ubiquity, their position as grassroots initiatives, and the expanded scholarship on the topic following the passage of the Charitable Choice legislation in 1996. Programs offered by congregations range from small and informal efforts to incorporated organizations with their own boards and tax-exempt status. Six very broad generalizations characterize the social services provided by religious congregations: high generosity, great diversity, uniqueness and flexibility, limited depth, and frequent collaboration.

Public Attitudes toward Church and State

Review of Religious Research, Dec 1, 1996

... Contents List of Tables ix Foreword by Stephen J. Wayne xi Preface and Acknowledgments xiii 1... more

Clergy as Public Actors

Oxford University Press eBooks, Apr 1, 2016

Reassessing the Concept and Measurement of Evangelicals: The Case for the RELTRAD Approach

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Nov 27, 2019

Social scientists have generally adopted one of three analytical approaches to understanding evan... more Social scientists have generally adopted one of three analytical approaches to understanding evangelicalism and those who thereby fall within the ranks of evangelicals. The choice of which approach one adopts is not "neutral," as each approach embodies different theoretical perspectives related to evangelicals, posits different means by which religion is linked to attitudes and behavior, entails different measurement issues, and captures somewhat different segments of society as being evangelical. This article delineates and explicates the inherent conceptual differences among the three approaches and examines the measurement issues associated with each approach. Given this reassessment, the article concludes by contending that the relative merits of the affiliation (or RELTRAD) approach generally outweigh those of the other two approaches.

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Finke, Roger, and Christopher D. Bader, eds., Faithful Measures: New Methods in the Measurement of Religion

Review of Religious Research, Jun 1, 2018

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Civil religious orientations and children's perceptions of political authority

Political Behavior, 1982

Previous studies concerning the influence of religious variables in the political socialization p... more Previous studies concerning the influence of religious variables in the political socialization process have been inadequate because they employed crude operational measures of religious beliefs. This study utilizes the presence of civil religious orientations as an alternative conceptualization of religious beliefs and finds that civil religious orientations among children are highly related to early perceptions of political authority. Moreover, the data suggest that the presence of these civil religious orientations are far more important than the nature of early perceptions of the president in the development of support for the political system.

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Partisan Affections and Change in Partisan Self-Images

American Politics Quarterly, Jul 1, 1984

This article seeks to differentiate between partisan affections and partisan self-images and anal... more This article seeks to differentiate between partisan affections and partisan self-images and analyzes how changes in respondents' partisan affections may relate to changes in their partisan self-images. Analysis revealed that changes in partisan affections (1) precede adoption of partisan self-images on the part of self-classified Independents, and (2) precede changes in the nature of partisan self-images on the part of those identifying with a major political party.

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Faith-Based Interventions for At-Risk Latino Youths: A Study of Outcomes

Politics and Religion, Feb 27, 2013

This is a study of the comparative outcome success experienced by 2748 participants in government... more This is a study of the comparative outcome success experienced by 2748 participants in government-funded faith-based and community-based intervention programs for at-risk and adjudicated Latino youths run by 28 providers in five western cities. The Latino Coalition, an intermediary faith-based organization, subcontracted with 28 sub-grantees that provided the services from 2005-2008. The study found similar outcomes were experienced by youths in the faith-based versus the community-based programs, but it did find significantly different outcomes by the comprehensive versus non-comprehensive nature of the programs. The study places its findings in the context of faith-based and community initiatives and draws conclusions concerning the public policy implications of the government partnering with faith-based and communitybased organizations to provide public services to needy, and especially minority, populations.

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Clergy in American Politics: An Introduction

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Dec 1, 2003

This issue of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion contains a variety of articles rel... more This issue of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion contains a variety of articles related to the role of clergy in American politics. These studies are not simply interrelated because of their focus on clergy: they are also components of a larger, cooperative scholarly effort and each largely addresses a similar topic-namely, the nature and level of the political activity of clergy in presidential election year 2000. It is perhaps appropriate that as the presidential election campaign of 2004 is about to begin, attention be given to the role that clergy played in the previous election campaign. This brief introduction, therefore, provides a rationale for the study of clergy, a general description of the larger cooperative study project, and a brief overview of the major findings of the different studies contained in this issue. CLERGY AS A FOCUS OF SCHOLARLY INQUIRY The role of clergy in American politics has long been the subject of scholarly inquiry. To a certain extent, this initial focus on clergy was related to a prevalent theory of mass communication at the time-namely, the two-step flow of communication. This perspective, which held sway in scholarly circles during the 1950s and 1960s, posited that the mass public did not necessarily receive important political information directly from the media. This was due to several assumptions tied to this particular model of communication. First, the model posited that people did not have sufficient time to monitor the mass media closely to gather important political information. More importantly, it was assumed that most people did not possess the analytical skills needed to digest and interrelate particularly complex pieces of political information. And, finally, it was posited that most people did not to possess the ability to see how such information might directly, or indirectly, affect the particular communities of which they were a part. As a result, the twostep flow of communication posited that information at the mass level was frequently conveyed through opinion leaders who monitored and interpreted important, but complex, information for members of their particular communities. If this was the means by which important information was transmitted down to the mass level, then would not clergy serve as important opinion leaders within their particular religious communities? It probably is no coincidence, therefore, that some of the major initial scholarly studies of clergy (e.g., Hadden 1969; Quinley 1974) transpired during the period when the two-step flow of communication was the dominant, or at least a leading, model of interpretation. But even as this model of social communication was being advanced within scholarly circles, technological changes within American society were seemingly undermining the credibility of the two-step flow of communication as being reflective of the social world at that time. In particular, the development of television as a medium of communication, its rapid dissemination throughout American society, and the large mass audiences for the three network news programs undermined the notion that opinion leaders served as disseminators and interpreters of relevant political information. It did not take long for the mass media, rather than opinion leaders, to be viewed as the important vehicles by which important political information was directly conveyed to mass audiences.

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Reclaiming Zion: How American religious groups view the Middle East

Israel Affairs, Mar 1, 1996

... sufficient detail to distinguish among the three major Page 9. Reclaiming Zion 155 religious ... more

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Corwin Smidt

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