Do religious justifications distort policy debates? Some empirics on the case for public reason

Scholars engaged in debates about the use of public reason often view religious arguments as being out of bounds. Yet the real-world impact of religious discourse remains under-explored. This study contributes to research in this area with an empirical test looking at the impact of religious arguments on a particular policy debate. A survey experiment explored the effects of religious and secular cues with varied policy directions on the issue of assisted dying. The findings showed that secular arguments were considerably more likely to elicit a positive response, and that, while religious arguments were not a conversation stopper, they produced significant distortions in political perceptions among participants, though not necessarily along the identity lines critical to the public reason debate

Conscientious Women: The Dispositional Conditions of Institutional Treatment on Civic Involvement

Current thinking about the effect of religion on civic engagement centers on “institutional treatment”—the development of resources, social pathways to recruitment, and motivation that occurs in small groups and activities of congregations. None of this work has yet incorporated the personality traits that may shape the uptake of institutional treatment. Following a growing line of research articulating how individual predispositions condition political involvement, we argue that gendered personality differences may moderate civic skill development. With new data, we find that women do not develop skills from religious involvement at the same rate as men and that this pattern is largely attributable to their distinctive personality profile. The results shift the balance between individuals and institutional influences by augmenting the cognitive bases for acquiring church-gained experiences and linking them to the public square

How future Supreme Court rulings may fuel the decline of religion in the US

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling which overturned Roe V. Wade, there has been fresh concern that subsequent cases may also overturn the right to same-sex relationships and marriage. In new research Jacob R. Neiheisel and Paul A. Djupe examine the link between changing attitudes towards gay rights and Americans’ declining religiosity. They find that increasing support for same-sex marriage over time is linked to falling attendance in houses of worship. Conflict within congregations which may increase following a new Supreme Court ruling, they argue, may cause more people to leave the organized religious services that they feel they no longer fit

Exposure to discussion and disagreement does not discourage women from political participation any more than men.

Scholarly work has found that there is a consistent gap in political campaign activism between men and women. One potential explanation, grounded in social psychology, is that women have greater exposure to disagreement and resource disparities, which makes them less likely to participate politically. In new research, Paul A. Djupe, Scott D. McClurg, and Anand E. Sokhey examine social networks and political participation over time, finding that while women can be less likely to campaign if exposed to political disagreement, this effect is not consistent over time. They also find that access to social expertise – usually from men – can help women to overcome the effects of resource disparities on their political activity