Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In the popular imagination Catholics are a group beset by immense amount of guilt. This so called “Catholic guilt” is a manifestation of role conflict of being an American Catholic, torn between the demands of contemporary life in secular America and the often contradictory, severe demands of the faith. Divorce is one issue that one would expect Catholics to be conflicted over, given the official stance of the Church against it. In spite of the overall unresponsiveness of the Church, in 1970s there emerged a movement of separated and divorced Catholics who challenged their marginalization in the Church and started a network of support groups for separated and divorced Catholics. My research suggests that many members of the support groups are there for reasons other than dealing with their role conflict over being both separated or divorced and Catholic. This paper examines some of the main reasons for joining and staying in these support groups.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This study seeks to understand if Catholic legislator behavior is a function of the legislator’s Catholicism. This is done by comparing how much a legislator votes with the Catholic Church with a number of variables, most notably whether or not the

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Using data from 49 in-depth interviews conducted in three Midwestern cities, I investigate religious identity and identification as a traditional, moderate, and liberal Catholic. Following the lead of other scholars, I examine whether Catholics’ religious identities are products of religious movements. After highlighting an array of traditional and liberal Catholic movement organizations, I examine whether (or how) Catholics’ are connected to these organizations. I find that most ordinary Catholics are not familiar with these traditional and liberal movement organizations or periodicals. So, while religious movements may be important in institutionalizing identities and garnering media attention for religious disagreements, the origins of religious identity for the majority of individual Catholics must be found in their daily interpretations and interactions.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper examines the Catholic church's reaction to John Kerry's candidacy in the 2004 presidential campaign and how Catholics actually voted in the 2004 election.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper investigates the level and substance of priest cue-giving in conjunction with the 2004 presidential election. As the “street-level bureaucrats” of the Catholic Church, priests may exercise discretion over which aspects of Catholic social teaching to proclaim, with the effect of lending support to one party or another. Leading up the election, Church teaching pertaining to gay marriage was particularly relevant, given the many ballot initiatives on that issue. Therefore we expected priest cue giving to have been focused on gay marriage. An original survey is used to test to this proposition. Ultimately, the findings suggest that priest cue giving was overwhelmingly directed at the array of traditional values issues, and not just gay marriage. While priests express concern for social justice and values based cultural concerns, the latter appeared more at stake in the 2004 election and priests crafted their behavior accordingly.