Mark Chaves of the National Congregations Study has put together an interesting graph demonstrating the ways that different religious groups engage in politics. The numbers may surprise you. Chaves breaks down the results:
First, notwithstanding extensive media coverage of political mobilization within conservative churches, conservative white Protestant churches do not stand out in their level of political activity. Catholic and black Protestant churches, overall, are more politically active than either liberal or conservative white Protestants. About three-quarters of Catholics and black Protestants attend churches that engaged in at least one of these eight political activities, compared to about half of white Protestants, either conservative or liberal (Synagogues’ political activity rates, by the way, are as high as the Catholic and black Protestant rates). . . .
[B]lack churches are much more likely than white churches to engage in electoral politics by having a candidate or elected government official speak at the church, or by participating in voter registration drives. And Catholic churches are much more likely than Protestant churches to engage in the direct action and pressure group politics of marching, demonstrating, and lobbying elected officials.
Orthodox. Faithful. Free.
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The interesting question is what drives these different congregations to pursue political activism (or not) in the manner that they do. Is it cultural? Theological? What do readers think?
[H/t Anthony Sacramone]
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