Religious Affiliation versus Religious Commitment: What Mattered Most in U.S. Presidential Elections, 2000-2012?

Elena Sidorova

doi:10.22151/politikon.28.5

Authors

Elena Sidorova University of Bonn

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.28.5

Keywords:

religious affiliation, religious commitment, presidential elections, USA, voting behavior

Abstract

The paper addresses the issue of religion in the U.S. presidential elections of 2000-2012. On the one hand, the author uses a fragmentary approach to studying the religious factor in the U.S. presidential elections, within the framework of which religion is operationalized in terms of religious affiliation. On the other hand, the author uses a systemic approach to studying the religious factor in the U.S. presidential elections, within the framework of which religion is operationalized in terms of religious commitment. The author compares and contrasts the two approaches and concludes that it is impossible to say what has mattered most in the past four U.S. presidential elections – religious affiliation or religious commitment, since each of these parameters measures religion differently and each of the models developed on the basis of these measurements reveal distinct findings and contribute differently to the understanding of the role of religion in the U.S. presidential elections.

Author Biography

Elena Sidorova, University of Bonn

Elena Sidorova, 22, is currently an M.A. student at the Department of North American Studies at the University of Bonn, Germany. She holds her B.A. degree in International Relations from National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia. She wrote her Bachelor’s thesis on the participatory patterns of the Jewish Diaspora in the U.S. domestic and foreign policy. Her academic interests include religion and politics in the USA, transatlantic relations and American popular culture.