Corwin E Smidt
Biographic Data
| ID | 124533 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Corwin E Smidt |
| GIVEN NAMES | Corwin E |
| FAMILY NAME | Smidt |
| SIGNATURE | SMIDT C E |
| AFFILIATIONS | Calvin University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6460-8582 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 49 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 472 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 48 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1980 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 10 |
Dominion, Stewardship, and Perceptions of the Problem of Climate Change
This study assesses the importance of dominion beliefs in relationship to stewardship beliefs in shaping attitudes related to climate change among the American people. Though typically viewed as alternative viewpoints, this study examines two separate measures-one capturing dominion and another capturing stewardship beliefs-allowing for an analysis of how these two viewpoints relate to each other and whether they have differential relationships o…
Christian Nationalism, Civic Republicanism, and Radical Secularism in Contemporary American Politics over Time
Over the past decade, a burgeoning strand of scholarly and journalistic literature has emerged that emphasizes the role of Christian nationalism within contemporary American politics. Unfortunately, this scholarly literature has mushroomed so quickly that relatively little attention has been given to its conceptual underpinnings and how Christian nationalism may be related to, or different from, other conceptualizations of the role of religion in…
The Partisanship of Protestant Clergy in the 2016 Presidential Election
Given their strategic position within American society, clergy continue to remain important actors in American politics. This article examines the partisan identifications and electoral behavior of American Protestant clergy in the 2016 presidential election. Although clergy partisanship may be of interest in any election, the 2016 contest, given the milieu of political polarization and the presence of the Trump candidacy, provides an intriguing …
Born-Again Versus Evangelical: Does the Difference Make a Difference
Although it has long been recognized that treating 'born-again' and 'evangelical' as equivalents is problematic, little scholarly effort has been made to assess whether the difference makes a difference. This study seeks to do so, assessing, in part, the extent to which the 'born-again or evangelical Christian' survey question captures evangelical identities and whether the question has merit for capturing evangelical respondents. By analyzing su…
Catholics and the 2020 Presidential Election
This article examines the role of Catholics within the 2020 presidential election in the United States. Although Catholics were once a crucial and dependable component of the Democratic Party’s electoral coalition, their vote in more recent years has been much more splintered. Nevertheless, Catholics have been deemed to be an important “swing vote” in American politics today, as in recent presidential elections they have aligned with the national…
Reassessing the Concept and Measurement of Evangelicals: The Case for the RELTRAD Approach
Social scientists have generally adopted one of three analytical approaches to understanding evangelicalism and those who thereby fall within the ranks of evangelicals. The choice of which approach one adopts is not 'neutral,' as each approach embodies different theoretical perspectives related to evangelicals, posits different means by which religion is linked to attitudes and behavior, entails different measurement issues, and captures somewhat…
The role of religion in the 2016 american presidential election
Pastors and Public Life
This volume examines the changing sociological, theological, and political characteristics of American Protestant clergy. The study is based on data gathered through national random surveys of clergy from four mainline Protestant (the Disciples of Christ; the Presbyterian Church, USA; the Reformed Church in America; and, the United Methodist Church) and three evangelical Protestant denominations (the Assemblies of God; the Christian Reformed Chur…
Generational Conversion? The Role of Religiosity in the Politics of Evangelicals
The political environment for evangelical Protestants has changed substantially since the Christian Right reached its apex, as a more issue and ideologically diffuse political environment has emerged. The present study tests two different theoretical perspectives on whether these contextual changes may have altered Millennial evangelicals' political perspectives vis-à-vis those of previous generations of evangelicals. On the one hand, theoretical…
American Evangelicals Today
American Evangelicals Today assesses the contemporary social, religious, and political characteristics of evangelical Protestants today, and it does so in light of (1) whether these characteristics are similar to, or different from, the corresponding characteristics of adherents of other major faith traditions in American religious life, and (2) the extent which these particular characteristics among evangelicals may have changed over the past fo…
Faith-Based Interventions for At-Risk Latino Youths: A Study of Outcomes
This is a study of the comparative outcome success experienced by 2748 participants in government-funded faith-based and community-based intervention programs for at-risk and adjudicated Latino youths run by 28 providers in five western cities. The Latino Coalition, an intermediary faith-based organization, subcontracted with 28 sub-grantees that provided the services from 2005–2008. The study found similar outcomes were experienced by youths in …
Do the Promises of Religion to Democracy Still Hold
The long tradition of theoretical and empirical scholarship on democracy suggests a modest hypothesis: that religion typically serves to sustain and undergird democratic life across most, but not necessarily all, cultural contexts. Data from several recent national and multi-national surveys confirm that in most cases religion does hold promise for democracy, as it contributes to the development of citizens who exhibit qualities required of membe…
The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics
The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics is unique to the field of religion and American politics. Religion is, and has always been, a powerful force in American politics. Over the past three decades, the study of religion and politics has gone from being ignored by the scholarly community to being a major focus of research. This research has been dominated by studies of the mass public, but has included some examination of political…
The Social Service Activities of Religious Congregations in America
The social service activities of religious congregations reflect the dynamic relationship between church and state in the United States. Examining congregations in particular is helpful because of their ubiquity, their position as grassroots initiatives, and the expanded scholarship on the topic following the passage of the Charitable Choice legislation in 1996. Programs offered by congregations range from small and informal efforts to incorporat…
Pews, Prayers, and Participation: Religion and Civic Responsibility in America
"Pews, Prayers, and Participation: Religion and Civic Responsibility in America" offers a fresh approach to key questions about what role religion plays in fostering civic responsibility in contemporary American society. In the course of their study the authors examine whether an individual exhibits a diminished, a privatized, a public, or an integrated form of religious expression, based on the individual's level of participation in both the pub…
Religious Influences in the 2004 Presidential Election
In this article, we examine the impact of religious variables on the vote in the 2004 presidential election. First, we review and evaluate two theories that underlie many interpretations of religion’s role in American electoral politics, namely, the ethnoreligious and the religious restructuring perspectives. Using both approaches, we deploy a comprehensive classification incorporating religious affiliations, beliefs, and practices that is quite …
Faith and Foreign Policy: A View From the Pews
Until recently the impact of faith on foreign policy has gone largely unnoticed by the mainstream public and media. Observers are divided as to whether it is primarily religious traditionalists or progressives that are shaping US foreign policy. Theauthors' survey of religious groups' attitudes towards US foreign policy and the Bush Doctrine reveal a complicated picture. Scholars, pundits, and journalists are now coming recognize the impact of fa…
Pulpit and Politics: Clergy in American Politics at the Advent of the Millennium
Religion and American Attitudes toward Islam and an Invasion of Iraq
This paper analyzes, in the wake of 9/11, the religious basis of American responses to removing Saddam Hussein, invading Iraq, and perceiving Islam as a violent religion, by using national survey data gathered just several months prior to the actual invasion. There was overwhelming agreement among Americans that the only way to disarm Iraq was to remove Saddam Hussein. Nevertheless, despite this general consensus, responses to the removal of Huss…
Religion as Social Capital: Producing the Common Good
While Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone (2000) highlighted the notion of volunteerism, little attention has been paid to religion's role in generating social capitalan ironic omission since religion constitutes the most common form of voluntary association in America today. Featuring essays by prominent social scientists, this is the first book-length systematic examination of the relationship between religion and social capital and what effects reli…
The Political Attitudes and Activities of Mainline Protestant Clergy in the Election of 2000: A Study of Six Denominations
This study examines clergy across six mainline Protestant denominations in terms of their social characteristics, their theological positions, and their political attitudes and behavior. The analysis is based on data collected through random surveys of clergy in each denomination conducted in 2001 using the same instrument. The predominant focus of the article is on the nature and level of political activities exhibited by mainline Protestant cle…
Clergy in American Politics: An Introduction
The Political Activities of Reformed Clergy in the UnitedStates and Scotland
This paper examines Reformed clergy across two different settings-the United States and Scotland in an effort to determine how theological orthodoxy is related to political participation. The paper demonstrates that (1) clergy in both settings tend to be politically active (2) the level of clergy political activity tends to be greater in the United States than in Scotland (3) the relationship between orthodoxy and political activity is complex, v…
The Bully Pulpit: The Politics of Protestant Clergy
Religion and Civic Engagement: A Comparative Analysis
This study examines the relationship between religious involvement and civic engagement in a comparative, cross-cultural perspective. Using data from a 1996 survey of 3000 Canadians and 3000 Americans, the study assesses religion's relative contribution to civic engagement in the two settings. The study reveals that both religious tradition and, more important, church attendance play an important role in fostering involvement in civil society in …
Faith and the Environment: Religious Beliefs and Attitudes on Environmental Policy
Theory: Conservative Christian theology contains a set of beliefs that run counter to the philosophy supporting environmentalism. Hypotheses: Conservative eschatology (Biblical literalism, End Times thinking), religious tradition, and religious commitment should be negatively related to support for environmental policy. Data: Using data from four national surveys of clergy, religious activists, political-party contributors, and the mass public, w…
Religion and Civic Engagement: A Comparative Analysis
This study examines the relationship between religious involvement and civic engagement in a comparative, cross-cultural perspective. Using data from a 1996 survey of 3000 Canadians and 3000 Americans, the study assesses religion's relative contribution to civic engagement in the two settings. The study reveals that both religious tradition and, more important, church attendance play an important role in fostering involvement in civil society in …
Religious Influences in the 2004 Presidential Election
In this article, we examine the impact of religious variables on the vote in the 2004 presidential election. First, we review and evaluate two theories that underlie many interpretations of religion’s role in American electoral politics, namely, the ethnoreligious and the religious restructuring perspectives. Using both approaches, we deploy a comprehensive classification incorporating religious affiliations, beliefs, and practices that is quite …
Measuring Fundamentalism: An Analysis of Different Operational Strategies
While a variety of operational measures have been employed to identify fundamentalist respondents, little attention has been paid to assessing the effects of particular operational measures. Using data from a national survey containing several conventional measures of fundamentalism, this study analyzes (1) the extent to which these operational measures of fundamentalism are interrelated and tap the same facet of the concept, and (2) how these me…
Theological Perspectives and Environmentalism among Religious Activists
James L. Guth, Lyman A. Kellstedt, Corwin E. Smidt, John C. Green, Theological Perspectives and Environmentalism among Religious Activists, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Dec., 1993), pp. 373-382
Religious Voting Blocs in the 1992 Election: The Year of the Evangelical
Etude de l'alignement politique et du comportement electoral des principales traditions religieuses americaines en 1992. Les protestants evangeliques solidifient leur inclination republicaine et deviennent un bloc central dans la coalition GOP. La majorite des protestants, se trouvant traditionnellement au centre du parti republicain, se sont tournes vers Clinton et Perot au detriment de Bush alors que les votants catholiques sont retournes a leu…
Religious Commitment, Political Conservatism, and Political and Social Tolerance in the United States: A Longitudinal Analysis
This paper seeks to clarify certain theoretical and empirical aspects of the nature of the relationships between political conservatism and religious commitment on the one hand and political and social intolerance on the other. Several conceptual problems associated with previous studies of the topic are noted, and data which circumvent such problems are analyzed in order to assess more adequately the true nature of the relationships under study
Reassessing the Concept and Measurement of Evangelicals: The Case for the RELTRAD Approach
Social scientists have generally adopted one of three analytical approaches to understanding evangelicalism and those who thereby fall within the ranks of evangelicals. The choice of which approach one adopts is not 'neutral,' as each approach embodies different theoretical perspectives related to evangelicals, posits different means by which religion is linked to attitudes and behavior, entails different measurement issues, and captures somewhat…
Religion and American Attitudes toward Islam and an Invasion of Iraq
This paper analyzes, in the wake of 9/11, the religious basis of American responses to removing Saddam Hussein, invading Iraq, and perceiving Islam as a violent religion, by using national survey data gathered just several months prior to the actual invasion. There was overwhelming agreement among Americans that the only way to disarm Iraq was to remove Saddam Hussein. Nevertheless, despite this general consensus, responses to the removal of Huss…
Evangelicals within Contemporary American Politics: Differentiating between Fundamentalist and Non-Fundamentalist Evangelicals
VER the past decade, political analysts have given renewed attention to the role of religion in American politics. One facet of this renewed attention has been an increased focus upon the political nature and electoral importance of American evangelical Christians. In fact, over the past several years, a great number of studies have emerged on the role of evangelicals in American politics (e.g., Lipset and Raab 1981; Fairbanks 1981; Guth 1981; Pa…
The Political Attitudes and Activities of Mainline Protestant Clergy in the Election of 2000: A Study of Six Denominations
This study examines clergy across six mainline Protestant denominations in terms of their social characteristics, their theological positions, and their political attitudes and behavior. The analysis is based on data collected through random surveys of clergy in each denomination conducted in 2001 using the same instrument. The predominant focus of the article is on the nature and level of political activities exhibited by mainline Protestant cle…
Biblical Literalism and Inerrancy: A Methodological Investigation
The results of a methodological experiment are reported, in which black, urban respondents are presented with a new question dealing with beliefs about the Bible. The new item contains alternatives connoting both biblical literalism and inerrancy. Contrary to some previous research, it was found that the difference between literalism and inerrancy is meaningful to most doctrinally conservative respondents
Born-Again Versus Evangelical: Does the Difference Make a Difference
Although it has long been recognized that treating 'born-again' and 'evangelical' as equivalents is problematic, little scholarly effort has been made to assess whether the difference makes a difference. This study seeks to do so, assessing, in part, the extent to which the 'born-again or evangelical Christian' survey question captures evangelical identities and whether the question has merit for capturing evangelical respondents. By analyzing su…
Generational Conversion? The Role of Religiosity in the Politics of Evangelicals
The political environment for evangelical Protestants has changed substantially since the Christian Right reached its apex, as a more issue and ideologically diffuse political environment has emerged. The present study tests two different theoretical perspectives on whether these contextual changes may have altered Millennial evangelicals' political perspectives vis-à-vis those of previous generations of evangelicals. On the one hand, theoretical…
Faith and Foreign Policy: A View From the Pews
Until recently the impact of faith on foreign policy has gone largely unnoticed by the mainstream public and media. Observers are divided as to whether it is primarily religious traditionalists or progressives that are shaping US foreign policy. Theauthors' survey of religious groups' attitudes towards US foreign policy and the Bush Doctrine reveal a complicated picture. Scholars, pundits, and journalists are now coming recognize the impact of fa…
Clergy in American Politics: An Introduction
"Praise the Lord" Politics: A Comparative Analysis of the Social Characteristics and Political Views of American Evangelical and Charismatic Christians
Journal Article “Praise the Lord” Politics: A Comparative Analysis of the Social Characteristics and Political Views of American Evangelical and Charismatic Christians Get access Corwin Smidt Corwin Smidt Calvin College Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Sociology of Religion, Volume 50, Issue 1, Spring 1989, Pages 53–72, https://doi.org/10.2307/3710918 Published: 01 March 1989
The Partisanship of Protestant Clergy in the 2016 Presidential Election
Given their strategic position within American society, clergy continue to remain important actors in American politics. This article examines the partisan identifications and electoral behavior of American Protestant clergy in the 2016 presidential election. Although clergy partisanship may be of interest in any election, the 2016 contest, given the milieu of political polarization and the presence of the Trump candidacy, provides an intriguing …
The role of religion in the 2016 american presidential election
Faith-Based Interventions for At-Risk Latino Youths: A Study of Outcomes
This is a study of the comparative outcome success experienced by 2748 participants in government-funded faith-based and community-based intervention programs for at-risk and adjudicated Latino youths run by 28 providers in five western cities. The Latino Coalition, an intermediary faith-based organization, subcontracted with 28 sub-grantees that provided the services from 2005–2008. The study found similar outcomes were experienced by youths in …
Do the Promises of Religion to Democracy Still Hold
The long tradition of theoretical and empirical scholarship on democracy suggests a modest hypothesis: that religion typically serves to sustain and undergird democratic life across most, but not necessarily all, cultural contexts. Data from several recent national and multi-national surveys confirm that in most cases religion does hold promise for democracy, as it contributes to the development of citizens who exhibit qualities required of membe…
Reclaiming Zion: How American religious groups view the Middle East
(1996). Reclaiming Zion: How American religious groups view the Middle East. Israel Affairs: Vol. 2, U.S.—Israeli Relations of the Crossroads, pp. 147-168
Evangelicals in the Post-Reagan Era: An Analysis of Evangelical Voters in the 1988 Presidential Election
Corwin Smidt, Paul Kellstedt, Evangelicals in the Post-Reagan Era: An Analysis of Evangelical Voters in the 1988 Presidential Election, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Sep., 1992), pp. 330-338
A Party Divided? A Comparison of Robertson & Bush Delegates to the 1988 Michigan Republican State Convention
Civil religious orientations and children's perceptions of political authority
Civil Religious Orientations among Elementary School Children
This study focuses upon two major questions concerning civil religion in America: (1) When in life are civil religious orientations initially acquired? and (2) Are civil religious orientations associated with the acquisition of other social and political attitudes? Analysis of data based upon a survey of 825 elementary school children in downstate Illinois suggests that civil religious orientations are learned during childhood, that they are held…
Civil religious orientations and children's perceptions of political authority
Religious Commitment, Political Conservatism, and Political and Social Tolerance in the United States: A Longitudinal Analysis
This paper seeks to clarify certain theoretical and empirical aspects of the nature of the relationships between political conservatism and religious commitment on the one hand and political and social intolerance on the other. Several conceptual problems associated with previous studies of the topic are noted, and data which circumvent such problems are analyzed in order to assess more adequately the true nature of the relationships under study
Views of American State Legislators on Public Funding of Legislative Elections
Evangelicals within Contemporary American Politics: Differentiating between Fundamentalist and Non-Fundamentalist Evangelicals
VER the past decade, political analysts have given renewed attention to the role of religion in American politics. One facet of this renewed attention has been an increased focus upon the political nature and electoral importance of American evangelical Christians. In fact, over the past several years, a great number of studies have emerged on the role of evangelicals in American politics (e.g., Lipset and Raab 1981; Fairbanks 1981; Guth 1981; Pa…
"Praise the Lord" Politics: A Comparative Analysis of the Social Characteristics and Political Views of American Evangelical and Charismatic Christians
Journal Article “Praise the Lord” Politics: A Comparative Analysis of the Social Characteristics and Political Views of American Evangelical and Charismatic Christians Get access Corwin Smidt Corwin Smidt Calvin College Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Sociology of Religion, Volume 50, Issue 1, Spring 1989, Pages 53–72, https://doi.org/10.2307/3710918 Published: 01 March 1989
A Party Divided? A Comparison of Robertson & Bush Delegates to the 1988 Michigan Republican State Convention
Biblical Literalism and Inerrancy: A Methodological Investigation
The results of a methodological experiment are reported, in which black, urban respondents are presented with a new question dealing with beliefs about the Bible. The new item contains alternatives connoting both biblical literalism and inerrancy. Contrary to some previous research, it was found that the difference between literalism and inerrancy is meaningful to most doctrinally conservative respondents
Religious Self-Identifications and Support for Robertson: An Analysis of Delegates to the 1988 Michigan Republican State Convention
Corwin E. Smidt, James M. Penning, Religious Self-Identifications and Support for Robertson: An Analysis of Delegates to the 1988 Michigan Republican State Convention, Review of Religious Research, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Jun., 1991), pp. 321-336
Measuring Fundamentalism: An Analysis of Different Operational Strategies
While a variety of operational measures have been employed to identify fundamentalist respondents, little attention has been paid to assessing the effects of particular operational measures. Using data from a national survey containing several conventional measures of fundamentalism, this study analyzes (1) the extent to which these operational measures of fundamentalism are interrelated and tap the same facet of the concept, and (2) how these me…
Evangelicals in the Post-Reagan Era: An Analysis of Evangelical Voters in the 1988 Presidential Election
Corwin Smidt, Paul Kellstedt, Evangelicals in the Post-Reagan Era: An Analysis of Evangelical Voters in the 1988 Presidential Election, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Sep., 1992), pp. 330-338
Theological Perspectives and Environmentalism among Religious Activists
James L. Guth, Lyman A. Kellstedt, Corwin E. Smidt, John C. Green, Theological Perspectives and Environmentalism among Religious Activists, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Dec., 1993), pp. 373-382
Rediscovering the Religious Factor in American Politics
Religious Voting Blocs in the 1992 Election: The Year of the Evangelical
Etude de l'alignement politique et du comportement electoral des principales traditions religieuses americaines en 1992. Les protestants evangeliques solidifient leur inclination republicaine et deviennent un bloc central dans la coalition GOP. La majorite des protestants, se trouvant traditionnellement au centre du parti republicain, se sont tournes vers Clinton et Perot au detriment de Bush alors que les votants catholiques sont retournes a leu…
The Impact of Churches on Political Behavior: An Empirical Study
Faith and the Environment: Religious Beliefs and Attitudes on Environmental Policy
Theory: Conservative Christian theology contains a set of beliefs that run counter to the philosophy supporting environmentalism. Hypotheses: Conservative eschatology (Biblical literalism, End Times thinking), religious tradition, and religious commitment should be negatively related to support for environmental policy. Data: Using data from four national surveys of clergy, religious activists, political-party contributors, and the mass public, w…
Reclaiming Zion: How American religious groups view the Middle East
(1996). Reclaiming Zion: How American religious groups view the Middle East. Israel Affairs: Vol. 2, U.S.—Israeli Relations of the Crossroads, pp. 147-168
Public Attitudes toward Church and State
Second Coming: The New Christian Right in Virginia Politics, by Mark J. Rozell and Clyde Wilcox
Journal Article Second Coming: The New Christian Right in Virginia Politics Get access Second Coming: The New Christian Right in Virginia Politics by Mark J. Rozell and Clyde Wilcox. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. 304 pp. $32.95. Corwin Smidt Corwin Smidt Calvin College Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Political Science Quarterly, Volume 112, Issue 4, Winter 1997, Pages 717–718, https://do…
Religion and the Culture Wars: Dispatches from the Front
Sojourners in the Wilderness: The Christian Right in Comparative Perspective
The Bully Pulpit: The Politics of Protestant Clergy
The Bully Pulpit: The Politics of Protestant Clergy
Religion and Civic Engagement: A Comparative Analysis
This study examines the relationship between religious involvement and civic engagement in a comparative, cross-cultural perspective. Using data from a 1996 survey of 3000 Canadians and 3000 Americans, the study assesses religion's relative contribution to civic engagement in the two settings. The study reveals that both religious tradition and, more important, church attendance play an important role in fostering involvement in civil society in …
The Bully Pulpit: The Politics of Portestand Clergy
Political science (45 works) · Sociology (43 works) · Law (42 works) · Religion and Society Interactions (38 works) · Politics (36 works) · Philosophy (27 works) · American Constitutional Law and Politics (24 works) · Religion, Society, and Development (22 works) · Religious studies (18 works) · Law (13 works)