The definitive analysis of how the presence of women politicians affects young people.From Kamala Harris to Nikki Haley, women in public life are widely expected to inspire young people, especially girls, to follow in their footsteps. See Jane Run provides the definitive analysis of women politicians as role models. With wide-ranging data and attention to gender, race, and party, David E. Campbell and Christina Wolbrecht find that women in politics help co...

American Grace is a major achievement, a groundbreaking examination of religion in America.Unique among nations, America is deeply religious, religiously diverse, and remarkably tolerant. But in recent decades the nation’s religious landscape has been reshaped.America has experienced three seismic shocks, say Robert Putnam and David Campbell. In the 1960s, religious observance plummeted. Then in the 1970s and 1980s, a conservative reaction produced...

American society is rapidly secularizing–a radical departure from its historically high level of religiosity–and politics is a big part of the reason. Just as, forty years ago, the Religious Right arose as a new political movement, today secularism is gaining traction as a distinct and politically energized identity. This book examines the political causes and political consequences of this secular surge, drawing on a wealth of original data. The authors show that secular identity is in pa...

Mormons have long had an outsized presence in American culture and politics, but they remain largely unknown to most Americans. Recent years have seen the political prominence of Mormons taken to a new level - including the presidential candidacy of Republican Mitt Romney, the prominent involvement of Mormons in the campaign for California's Proposition 8 (anti-gay marriage), and the ascendancy of Democrat Harry Reid to the position of Senate Majority Leader. This book provides the most th...

"By nearly every measure, Americans are less engaged in their communities and political activity than generations past.” So write the editors of this volume, who survey the current practices and history of citizenship education in the United States.They argue that the current period of “creative destruction”—when schools are closing and opening in response to reform mandates—is an ideal time to take an in-depth look at how successful strategies and programs promote...

Zoe’s Fright NightBy: David E. Campbell Zoe the Firefly is afraid of the dark. In the big backyard, many things seem like monsters to Zoe’s imagination. But when she looks just a little bit closer, she realizes there’s nothing to be scared of. There is nothing in the dark that is not there during the day. About the AuthorDavid E. Campbell came up with Zoe to help his children. He hopes Zoe comforts all children at bedtime.

Why do more people vote--or get involved in other civic and political activities--in some communities than in others? Why We Vote demonstrates that our communities shape our civic and political engagement, and that schools are especially significant communities for fostering strong civic norms.Much of the research on political participation has found that levels of participation are higher in diverse communities where issues important to voters are hotly contested. In this...

American Grace takes its findings from two of the largest, most comprehensive surveys ever conducted on religion and public life in America, plus in-depth studies of diverse congregations—among them a megachurch, a Mormon congregation, a Catholic parish, a reform Jewish synagogue, and an African American congregation.From abortion to gay marriage to feminism, this book shows how religion has influenced politics in America—and vice versa. The discoveries are often unexpecte...

How can an atheist lead a meaningful life? The answer is to follow modern science, give up thesearch for purpose in life, and start looking for what truly matters. This requires paying attentionto emotional responses, taking the effort to make emotional judgments true, and constructing alife that is truly worthy of respect. A Guide for the Godless offers philosophical advice on this quest.

Public Opinion is a comprehensive and multidisciplinary examination of public opinion in the United States. Drawing on scholarship in political science, psychology, sociology, and communications, the authors explore the nature of political and social attitudes in the United States and how these attitudes are shaped by various institutions, with an emphasis on mass media. The book also serves as a provocative starting point for the discussion of citizen moods, political participati...

Politicians, scholars, and pundits often disagree about whether race has been injected into a political campaign or policy debate. Some have suspected that race sometimes enters into politics even when political elites avoid using racial cues or racially coded language. Anger and Racial Politics provides a theoretical framework for understanding the emotional conditions under which this effect might happen. Banks asserts that making whites angry - no matter the basis for their anger - will...

Social science research has frequently found conflict between Latinos and African Americans in urban politics and governance, as well as in the groups' attitudes toward one another. Rodney E. Hero and Robert R. Preuhs analyze whether conflict between these two groups is also found in national politics. Based on extensive evidence on the activities of minority advocacy groups in national politics and the behavior of minority members of Congress, the authors find the relationship between the...