Matter of Discretion
«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
Clergy are pillars of local religious communities, and Roman Catholic priests are perhaps the quintessential examples of pastors functioning as political elites. The political science literature demonstrates that priests (indeed, clergy more generally) are well-positioned to influence the faithful, even if this influence is somewhat inconsistent. Les mer
But exactly how Catholic priests determine the political acts and attitudes associated with their elite role remains a puzzle. We suggest it is the product of an interactive institutional, social, and psychological milieu, the complexity of which has not been fully assessed in the extant literature. Though some might prefer to think of priests as profiles in courage operating above the political fray, the institutional and personal realities of priest life often forces them to deal with the political realm. In doing so, priests are variably responsive to different principals, or reference groups, that represent specific dimensions of their professional context. Drawing on a series of randomized experiments on samples of Roman Catholic priests in the US and Ireland, we find that priests cognitively draw on varying professional and personal cues in responding to their employer’s institutional preferences. Furthermore, how priests represent their church's political preferences to parishioners appears to be a matter of individual-level discretion.
Detaljer
- Forlag
- Rowman & Littlefield
- Innbinding
- Innbundet
- Språk
- Engelsk
- ISBN
- 9781442237247
- Utgivelsesår
- 2017
- Format
- 24 x 16 cm
Anmeldelser
«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