Center for Social Research

“Clergy Participation in Local Politics” paper and presentation

Following up on the Gatherings of Hope report for a general public readership, CSR and our research partners are beginning to produce academic studies from the 2007 Kent County Congregations Study. CSR Director Jim Penning will present our paper on "Clergy Participation in Local Politics" at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association; the presentation is part of a panel on clergy activism that will take place at 8:00AM on Friday, April 3.

Key findings from the paper: Kent County clergy are quite active in contacting public officials; about 60 percent of the 496 ordained clergy in the study data said they had contacted a public official about an issue of interest to their congregation. Like other citizens, members of the clergy are strongly influenced by their educational level; those with Master's and doctoral-level education were 22 to 24 percent more likely to contact public officials than those with less than college education; those with Bachelor's-level education were 8 percent more likely.

Congregational context is also important; for example, clergy from congregations with large percentages of high-income persons were dramatically less likely to contact public officials, probably because they do not perceive serious needs to do so; the percentage of theologically liberal participants in the congregation was also an important influence. Clergy serving congregations that experienced internal conflict in the last two years were actually more likely to contact public officials. The paper also models which kinds of officials were contacted (city, state and federal, for example) and what issues the contacts were about. Education was the most frequently cited cause for contacting officials, with much higher levels of contact by clergy from congregations with Black and Hispanic pluralities and near schools with high proportions of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.

The Clergy & Public Affairs Survey is underway!

The Clergy & Public Affairs Survey is underway! In cooperation with Corwin Smidt, the Henry Institute, and several cooperating scholars, CSR is in the midst of launching a major quadrennial post-presidential-election survey of clergy in several denominations.

We have already mailed surveys to the clergy of many denominations, including the Christian Reformed Church, the Reformed Church of America, the Disciples of Christ, the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. As the project progresses, we will continue processing and mailing out surveys to clergy of the remaining denominations. As of February 20, over 300 responses have already arrived, and even more are expected in the coming days! Special thanks to all clergy who have responded and increased our ability to understand and analyze religious thoughts on public affairs.

Please see the FAQ page for more specifics on this project and its collaborators.

President of the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment Visits Calvin

The Byker Chair and the Department of Geology, Geography, and Environmental Studies invite you to hear Dr. John Baden’s presentation: “Revelations and Institutions: The theology and political economy of Hutterite and Mormon experiments with intentional communities.”  Political economy offers insights into why one communal order ended in absolute failure and another has survived for almost 500 years. 

Tuesday Sept. 30, 3:30 p.m.                                                                                                   
North Hall B78

     
The same evening, Dr. Baden speaks on “The Political Economy of Endangered Species.”  Baden discusses the Endangered Species Act passed by Congress in 1973 and outlines the struggle between enacting law while dealing with the necessity of environmental trade-offs and the declining support of policies as costs escalate.

Tuesday Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m.
Commons Lecture Hall

Monsma publishes book on Christian evaluation of public policy

Adapted from the Christians in Political Science newsletter for March 2008: Just published, Healing for a Broken World: Christian Perspectives on Public Policy is written by Steve Monsma, a research fellow at the Henry Institute at Calvin College and a former CPS president. In his book, Steve lays out foundational biblical principles for guiding Christians’ evaluation of current public policy issues and then applies them to several key issue areas. His goal is not to prescribe specific public policy positions, but to assist believers to evaluate and reach their own public policy positions in a thoughtful manner, guided by biblical principles. It is published by Crossway Books; more information can be found at www.healingbrokenworldbook.com. The Henry Institute has also produced a DVD and study guide to accompany the book, which is suited for use in introductory college classes and study groups. More information on it can be found at the Henry Institute publications page.

Dr. James Penning to direct CSR

Dr. James Penning, currently chair of Calvin’s Department of Political Science, has been appointed to become Director of the Center for Social Research effective June 1, 2008.

Dr. Penning’s extensive experience includes a panoply of research- and community-related projects and positions. A scholar of public administration, urban, state and local politics, and religion and politics, he is a past president of the Michigan Conference of Political Scientists and program chair for the Religion and Politics section of the American Political Science Association. In the community, he has been a member of the Grand Rapids Planning Commission, the Kentwood City Commission, and the Baxter Community Center Board. He has conducted numerous large-scale studies and surveys. His most recent publication is Divided by a Common Heritage:  The Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in America at the Beginning of the New Millennium, co-authored with colleagues Corwin Smidt of Calvin and Donald Luidens and Roger Nemeth of Hope College.

The Center’s staff and student team are excited about Dr. Penning’s unique combination of community ties and research expertise.