Moral Issues - (Chicago Studies in American Politics) by Paul Goren & Christopher Chapp

About the Book

"Many believe that religious and partisan identities undergird American public opinion on so-called culture wars issues. However, when it comes to abortion and gay rights, the reverse may be closer to the truth. Drawing on wide-ranging evidence, Paul Goren and Christopher Chapp show that views on abortion and gay rights are just as durable--and sometimes more durable--than political and religious identities. Their strength stems from their grounding in automatic, visceral emotions that media have primed since the late 1980s. Attitudes toward these moralized issues predict and can sometimes even disrupt religious and partisan identities. Indeed, over the last thirty years, they have accelerated the rise of the religious "nones" and moral sorting into Democratic and Republican parties"--

Book Synopsis

A new perspective on how beliefs about abortion and gay rights reshaped American politics.

Many believe that religious and partisan identities undergird American public opinion. However, when it comes to abortion and gay rights, the reverse may be closer to the truth.

Drawing on wide-ranging evidence, Paul Goren and Christopher Chapp show that views on abortion and gay rights are just as durable and politically impactful--and often more so--than political and religious identities. Goren and Chapp locate the lasting strength of stances on abortion and gay rights in the automatic, visceral emotions that the media has primed since the late 1980s. Moral Issues examines how attitudes toward these moralized issues affect, and can sometimes even disrupt, religious and partisan identities. Indeed, over the last thirty years, these attitudes have accelerated the rise of the religious "nones," who have no religious affiliation, and promoted moral sorting into the Democratic and Republican parties.

Review Quotes

"The strength of Moral Issues lies in the authors' linear and logical approach, painstakingly building their case. The book takes readers on a journey that challenges--or even overturns--what many social scientists believed about the relationship between issue positions, partisanship, and religion. Yet, because the authors present their case so clearly, readers are likely to find themselves nodding along, wondering how anyone could have thought otherwise."-- "Perspectives on Politics"

"Challenging the conventional wisdom that partisan attachment adopted early in life determines choice for most voters, the authors find that partisan attachment may be more fluid than earlier research suggests...this important work forces a deeper reckoning with the drivers of American electoral politics. The arguments in Moral Issues must be considered in any serious evaluation. Academics and political operatives will benefit from a careful reading of this important book."-- "Choice"

"Chapp and Goren's outstanding analyses show that there are still some limitations on the power of partisan messages to change Americans' underlying attitudes. Indeed, Moral Issues makes an important contribution to our understanding of US politics by convincingly demonstrating that opinions about abortion and gay rights have helped reshape voters' deeply held partisan attachments."--Michael Tesler University of California, Irvine

"Compelling, convincing, and controversial--but for the right reasons. Goren and Chapp demonstrate that attitudes on abortion and LGBTQ rights are stable, and that these beliefs can shape religious and political behavior such as party identification. Through the sheer amount of data collected and the warts-and-all transparency with which it is presented, the authors leave no stone unturned."--David Campbell coauthor of "Secular Surge: A New Fault Line in American Politics"

About the Author

Paul Goren is professor of political science and the director of the Center for the Study of Political Psychology at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of On Voter Competence. Christopher Chapp is professor of political science and the Morrison Family Director of the Institute for Freedom and Community at St. Olaf College. He is the author of Religious Rhetoric and American Politics.