Red State Religion

Faith and Politics in America's Heartland

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Government, Social Policy, Religion & Spirituality
Cover of the book Red State Religion by Robert Wuthnow, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robert Wuthnow ISBN: 9781400839759
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: November 14, 2011
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Robert Wuthnow
ISBN: 9781400839759
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: November 14, 2011
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

No state has voted Republican more consistently or widely or for longer than Kansas. To understand red state politics, Kansas is the place. It is also the place to understand red state religion. The Kansas Board of Education has repeatedly challenged the teaching of evolution, Kansas voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional ban on gay marriage, the state is a hotbed of antiabortion protest--and churches have been involved in all of these efforts. Yet in 1867 suffragist Lucy Stone could plausibly proclaim that, in the cause of universal suffrage, "Kansas leads the world!" How did Kansas go from being a progressive state to one of the most conservative?

In Red State Religion, Robert Wuthnow tells the story of religiously motivated political activism in Kansas from territorial days to the present. He examines how faith mixed with politics as both ordinary Kansans and leaders such as John Brown, Carrie Nation, William Allen White, and Dwight Eisenhower struggled over the pivotal issues of their times, from slavery and Prohibition to populism and anti-communism. Beyond providing surprising new explanations of why Kansas became a conservative stronghold, the book sheds new light on the role of religion in red states across the Midwest and the United States. Contrary to recent influential accounts, Wuthnow argues that Kansas conservatism is largely pragmatic, not ideological, and that religion in the state has less to do with politics and contentious moral activism than with relationships between neighbors, friends, and fellow churchgoers.

This is an important book for anyone who wants to understand the role of religion in American political conservatism.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

No state has voted Republican more consistently or widely or for longer than Kansas. To understand red state politics, Kansas is the place. It is also the place to understand red state religion. The Kansas Board of Education has repeatedly challenged the teaching of evolution, Kansas voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional ban on gay marriage, the state is a hotbed of antiabortion protest--and churches have been involved in all of these efforts. Yet in 1867 suffragist Lucy Stone could plausibly proclaim that, in the cause of universal suffrage, "Kansas leads the world!" How did Kansas go from being a progressive state to one of the most conservative?

In Red State Religion, Robert Wuthnow tells the story of religiously motivated political activism in Kansas from territorial days to the present. He examines how faith mixed with politics as both ordinary Kansans and leaders such as John Brown, Carrie Nation, William Allen White, and Dwight Eisenhower struggled over the pivotal issues of their times, from slavery and Prohibition to populism and anti-communism. Beyond providing surprising new explanations of why Kansas became a conservative stronghold, the book sheds new light on the role of religion in red states across the Midwest and the United States. Contrary to recent influential accounts, Wuthnow argues that Kansas conservatism is largely pragmatic, not ideological, and that religion in the state has less to do with politics and contentious moral activism than with relationships between neighbors, friends, and fellow churchgoers.

This is an important book for anyone who wants to understand the role of religion in American political conservatism.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book Carlos Chávez and His World by Robert Wuthnow
Cover of the book Slumming by Robert Wuthnow
Cover of the book John Adams and the Fear of American Oligarchy by Robert Wuthnow
Cover of the book A Theory of the Aphorism by Robert Wuthnow
Cover of the book Fighting for Status by Robert Wuthnow
Cover of the book Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era by Robert Wuthnow
Cover of the book Classical Mathematical Logic by Robert Wuthnow
Cover of the book Unequal Democracy by Robert Wuthnow
Cover of the book What Is the Present? by Robert Wuthnow
Cover of the book The Enlightenment by Robert Wuthnow
Cover of the book German Jewry and the Allure of the Sephardic by Robert Wuthnow
Cover of the book The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P'ing Mei by Robert Wuthnow
Cover of the book Knowing Full Well by Robert Wuthnow
Cover of the book Macroeconomic Theory: A Dynamic General Equilibrium Approach by Robert Wuthnow
Cover of the book In the Shadow of the Bomb by Robert Wuthnow
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy