Evangelicals in the Post-Reagan Era: An Analysis of Evangelical Voters in the 1988 Presidential Election uri icon

abstract

  • The 1980s was an important period of time in the political life of American evangelicals. While evangelicals entered the decade as relatively apolitical citizens (Wuthnow 1983) with predominantly Democratic partisan orientations (Hunter 1983), both of these political traits appeared to be changing during Reagan's tenure in office. Since these changes were closely tied to the presidential candidacies of Ronald Reagan, it was unclear what would happen once he was absent from the ticket. This research note examines evangelical involvement in the 1988 general election in comparison to the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections. In so doing, it seeks to ascertain whether the recent changes among evangelicals are likely to become permanent features of the political landscape.

published proceedings

  • Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

author list (cited authors)

  • Smidt, C., & Kellstedt, P.

citation count

  • 6

complete list of authors

  • Smidt, Corwin||Kellstedt, Paul

publication date

  • September 1992

publisher