Catholics and US Politics After the 2020 Elections: Biden Chases the ‘Swing Vote' (Palgrave Studies in Religion, Politics, and Policy)

This book examines the evolution of the Catholic vote in the United States and the role of Catholic voters in the 2020 national elections more specifically. There is a paucity of academic books on Catholic voters, even though Catholics comprise nearly one-quarter of the US national popular vote and commonly are called the "swing vote." Scholars of religion and politics tend to focus heavily on the evangelical right, thus overlooking the powerful influence of Catholic voters who, by the accounts in this volume, were critical to the presidential election of President Joe Biden. To understand the intersection of religion, politics, and election outcomes in the US requires an analysis of the role played by Catholics. Among key topics covered in this volume are whether Biden's Catholic identity was key to his achieving a larger percentage of the Catholic vote than achieved by Hillary Clinton in 2016; the role of the Catholic bishops in US elections; the critically important role of the Catholic Latino vote in US elections; the conservative Catholic and evangelical alliance in US politics; and the distinctive politics of social justice Catholics and socially conservative Catholics. --Book cover Contents List of Contributors List of Figures List of Tables 1 The “Catholic Vote” in the United States The Catholic Voter in the United States The Evangelical-Catholic Alliance Conclusion Chapter Plan Part I Political Parties and Ideologies 2 Catholic Patterns in the American Left Introduction The Emergence of a New Catholic (Religious) Left in US Politics A Long, Overshadowed, History of Progressive Activism Among American Catholics George W. Bush’s Presidency: A “Wake-Up Call” for Liberal Religious Americans A New Alliance Between Catholics and Democrats From Donald Trump to Joe Biden: The Resilience of Progressive Catholicism in Times of Crisis The Trump Presidency and the Institutional Deficiencies of Liberal Catholics Joe Biden as the Embodiment of the Catholic Left Can Liberal Catholics Remain Relevant for the Democratic Party? Conclusion References 3 The American Catholic Right in the Making of US Christian Populism and Its European Incursion The Trumpist Turn National Populist / “Christianist” Turn European Counterpart Transatlantic Connections Catholic Contribution to American Christianism American Christianism as a Specific National Populism Natural Rights and Christian Religious Freedom White Christendom Spiritual Warfare Christianist Connections Through Catholic Networks in Europe Gay Lobby and Jewish Plot Connections to Nationalist and New Radical Parties The 2019 European Campaign Against “The Davos Party” The Myth of the Empire 4 Did Donald Trump End the Religious Right? The 2016 Campaign The History of the Religious Right The 2016 Election The 2020 Election Part II The Bishops and the Holy See 5 A Climax in the Culture Wars? The US Bishops and the 2020 Election Entering the Political Fray Democratic and Catholic: A Difficult Equation for the Bishops Priorities Which Seems to Favor the GOP, but Which Conceal Tensions Among the Bishops 2016, a Pause in an Otherwise Inexorable Process? The 2020 Election: The Culture Wars Back in Force at the USCCB Donald Trump and the Bishops Biden and the Bishops The End of the Election, but Not of the Divisions 6 The Holy See and the Catholic Community in the 2016 and 2020 Presidential Elections The Holy See and the United States The Changing Status of American Catholics Changing Attitudes of American Catholics Toward Church Authority The Election of 2016 The 2020 Election: Catholics and a Pro-choice President Part III Catholics and U.S. Elections 7 The Growing Influence of the Catholic Latino Vote General Catholic and Latino Catholic Voting Behavior in 2020 The Latino Community Electoral Potential The Latino Electorate Structural Challenges Florida Still Matters 2016 and 2020 as Mirror Images of Each Other Conclusion 8 “Can We Get the Catholic Vote?” The Effects of Catholic Running Mates in Presidential Elections The “Catholic Vote” Data and Method Findings When a Catholic VP Runs for President 9 Conclusion: Catholics Come Home? Helping to Elect a Catholic President Again Similarities and Differences Between Catholic Voters In the Minds of Catholic Voters Conclusions Index