In God at the Grassroots 2016: The Christian Right in American Politics, a distinguished group of political scientists, many of whom have been studying the Christian Right for more than two decades, assess the 2016 elections from the standpoint of religious conservative activism. These elections, more than any that they have analyzed, best tell the story of the resilience of this movement and its enduring importance.
The contributors address the evolution of the religious right movement for more than two decades and focus primarily on the movement’s role in the 2016 elections. The first section examines the broader national context, with chapters on the Republican nomination campaign, the general election, and the relationship between the religious right and the tea party. The second section comprises state-specific chapters, focusing primarily on the crucial states in the 2016 presidential contest. They conclude with lessons learned from the studies of the religious right in the elections from 1994 through 2016 and address directions for continued research on the subject.
Contributions by Joseph Cella, Kimberly H. Conger, Matthew Corrigan, Paul A. Djupe, Christopher P. Gilbert, James L. Guth, Donna R. Hoffman, Ted G. Jelen, Alexander Jensen, Christopher W. Larimer, Mikael Pelz, Sucheta Pyakuryal, Carin Robinson, Mark J. Rozell, Corwin E. Smidt, Oran P. Smith, Kenneth D. Wald, Clyde Wilcox, and Abigail Zofchak
Table of Contents:
PART ONE: The Christian Right Movement in 2016
Chapter One: Donald J. Trump and the Enduring Religion Factor in U.S. Politics, Mark J. Rozell
Chapter Two: Evangelicals and President Trump: The Not So Odd Couple, Ted G. Jelen and Kenneth D. Wald
PART TWO: Key States in the 2016 Election
Chapter Three: Ohio: Christian Right in Kasich Country?, Paul A. Djupe and Kimberly H. Conger
Chapter Four: Iowa: The Religious Right as Sometime Republican Kingmaker, Christopher W. Larimer and Donna R. Hoffman
Chapter Five: Michigan: The Christian Right in the Presidential Election, Corwin E. Smidt and Mikael Pelz
Chapter Six: Minnesota: The Resurgence of Evangelical Political Strength in 2016, Christopher P. Gilbert, Joseph Cella, and Alexander Jensen
Chapter Seven: Colorado: Hiking in Rocky Terrain, Carin Robinson
Chapter Eight: Florida: Trump Connects with the Christian Right, Matthew Corrigan, Sucheta Pyakuryal, and Kenneth Wald
Chapter Nine: Virginia: Christian Right Birthplace Rejects Trump, Mark J. Rozell and Clyde Wilcox
Chapter Ten: South Carolina: Integration and Challenge?, Oran P. Smith and James L. Guth
PART THREE: CONCLUSION
Chapter Eleven: The Last Temptation of the Christian Right?, Clyde Wilcox
About the Editors
About the Author :
Mark J. Rozell is dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.
Clyde Wilcox is professor of government at Georgetown University.
Review :
This book addresses the influence of the American religious Right on the 2016 presidential election campaign. It follows up on a series published in the late 1990s and early 2000s that went into hiatus from 2004 to 2016. The editors, Rozell (George Mason) and Wilcox (Georgetown), are distinguished scholars of religion and American politics. Contributors to this book study the dynamics of the religious Right in eight pivotal states. Their focus is on the role of interest groups during the primaries and general elections, but they also analyze the electoral strategies of the main campaigns. Contributors seek to explain the apparent anomaly of Christian support for the Trump candidacy. Their analysis is succinct and based on strong empirical research. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.
