God at the Grass Roots, 1996 is composed of entirely new and original essays that analyze the impact of the Christian Right in the 1996 national, state, and local elections. The nation's leading scholars of religion and politics identify and illuminate numerous trends that have dramatically evolved since the landmark elections of 1994. More than simply a revised version of the popular God at the Grass Roots, this fundamentally new edition examines the Christian Right's nationwide influence, and the essays arrive at starkly different conclusions about America's most organized and observed political interest group. This text will complement all courses on parties and elections, and religion and politics.

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

This title was first published in 2002: What is the relationship between religion and politics? How are they associated in the developing world? When does the interface between them result in violence? This volume attempts to answer these questions. In particular, the objective is to understand the circumstances that lead to explosive interactions between religion and politics in the developing world. However, this focus does not imply a perpetual tension between the religious and political spheres. Rather, it explores those historical moments when the relationship does break down and often ends in violent conflicts. The contributors have expertise in fields such as anthropology, history and political science.

The overall rate of incarceration in the United States has been on the rise since 1970s, skyrocketing during Ronald Reagan's presidency, and recently reaching unprecedented highs. Looking for innovative solutions to the crises produced by gigantic prison populations, Florida's Department of Corrections claims to have found a partial remedy in the form of faith and character-based correctional institutions (FCBIs). While claiming to be open to all religious traditions, FCBIs are almost always run by Protestants situated within the politics of the Christian right. The religious programming is typically run by the incarcerated along with volunteers from outside the prison. Stoddard takes the reader deep inside FCBIs, analyzing the subtle meanings and difficult choices with which the incarcerated, prison administrators, staff, and chaplains grapple every day. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research and historical analysis, Brad Stoddard argues that FCBIs build on and demonstrate the compatibility of conservative Christian politics and neoliberal economics. Even without authoritative data on whether FCBIs are assisting rehabilitation and reducing recidivism rates, similar programs are appearing across the nation—only Iowa has declared them illegal under non-establishment-of-religion statutes. Exposing the intricate connections among incarceration, neoliberal economics, and religious freedom, Stoddard makes a timely contribution to debates about religion's role in American society.

The Routledge Handbook of Political Management is a comprehensive overview of the field of applied politics, encompassing political consulting, campaigns and elections, lobbying and advocacy, grass roots politics, fundraising, media and political communications, the role of the parties, political leadership, and the ethical dimensions of public life. While most chapters focus on American politics and campaigns, there are also contributions on election campaigns in Europe, the Middle East, Russia, Australia, East Asia, and Latin America. In addition to a thorough treatment of campaign and elections, the authors discuss modern techniques, problems, and issues of advocacy, lobbying, and political persuasion, with a special emphasis throughout the volume on technology, the Internet, and online communications as political tools. Grounded in the disciplines of political science, political communications, and political marketing, the Routledge Handbook of Political Management explores the linkages between applied politics and social science theory. Leading American and international scholars and practitioners provide an exhaustive and up-to-date treatment of the state of this emerging field. This publication is a major resource for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars of campaigns, elections, advocacy, and applied politics, as well as for political management professionals.

In the wake of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, the Christian Right expected major victories in the 1998 elections. Instead, many of its allies lost close contests, and the movement was seen as a liability in some high-profile campaigns. In the only in-depth study of the Christian Right's role in these races, leading scholars analyze the role of the movement in fourteen key states, from Maine to California, and address speculations that the movement is fading from the American political scene. The book focuses on elections on the state and local levels, where the Christian Right is most influential, and it describes the movement's niche in some detail. Although each campaign described in the book had its unique characteristics, the editors have drawn some broad conclusions about the 1998 elections. While the movement was weak in the areas of candidate recruitment and fundraising, they say, the outcome may have also been related to external factors including a broader turnout of typically Democratic constituencies and the country's boredom with the scandal that conservatives had made the centerpiece of their campaign. Despite the setbacks of 1998, the contributors argue, the Christian Right continues to have an enormous influence on the political dialogue of the country. Written from an unbiased, nonpartisan perspective, this volume sheds light on a topic that is too frequently mired in controversy.

DIVAnalysis of the nationally broadcast radio program "Focus on the Family" that argues that the Christian right's popularity stems from its resistance to the increasing influence of market forces in the welfare state, the electoral system, and the/div