Description: In this book, the authors assess the institutional and personal factors at play in determining Roman Catholic priests' political attitudes and behaviors by leveraging survey experiments on priest samples from the US and Ireland and featuring the first ever field experiment con...
Brief description: Melissa R. Michelson, PhD, is dean of arts and sciences and professor of political science at Menlo College and past president of the LGBT Caucus of the American Political Science Association.
Review Quotes:
"While we know a great deal about individual clergy members from a generation of study, we still know very little about their institutional constraints, the context in which they act, until now. The authors expertly navigate the complex environment of the Catholic Church across nations (for the first time) with creative data collection. This book, therefore, represents a phase change in the study of clergy; it is a true agenda setting work." --Paul A. Djupe, Denison University
"This book is a welcome and important addition to several literatures. The volume combines a rigorous and creative multimethod research design with a sophisticated understanding of Catholic doctrine and social teaching and a nuanced understanding of two distinctive political cultures. This work will serve as an invaluable resource for scholars working in several diverse theoretical traditions." --Ted G. Jelen, University of Nevada, Las Vegas "This volume advances the study of the role of religious leaders within political life. Employing a contextual, cross-national framework of analysis, adopting new theoretical frameworks, and utilizing multiple modes of methodological analysis (including survey research, ethnographic, and experimental modes of analysis), this endeavor breaks new ground in the study of the political roles of clergy." --Corwin E. Smidt, Calvin College