"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"--
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.
