NR #1996-021: Calvin Professor Part of Major Survey on Church and Politics Calvin College professor of political science Dr. Corwin Smidt will join fellow researchers Drs. John Green of the University of Akron, Lyman Kellstedt of Wheaton College, Illinois, and James Guth of Furman University for a major survey of randomly selected Americans to determine the impact of religion on election results and the impact of elections on religious people. The four-man team believes that 1996 may be a "pivotal year in the integration of evangelicals into the mainstream of American public life," following by 20 years the political interest aroused by Jimmy Carter and a year (1976) that was dubbed "the year of the evangelical." The work of Smidt, Green, Guth and Kellstedt will be instrumental in determining whether or not the same claim will be made of 1996. The increasing influence of such groups as the Christian Coalition, under the direction of Pat Robertson and Ralph Reed, and the ability of conservative Christian groups to both mobilize voters and impact races lends increasing significance to the work of Smidt and his colleagues. NR #1996-021: For Immediate Release Calvin Professor Part of Major Survey on Church and Politics by Phil de Haan, Calvin College Media Relations Distributed by United Reformed News Service GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (February 20, 1996) URNS - Calvin College professor of political science Dr. Corwin Smidt will join fellow researchers Drs. John Green of the University of Akron, Lyman Kellstedt of Wheaton College, Illinois, and James Guth of Furman University for a major survey of randomly selected Americans to determine the impact of religion on election results and the impact of elections on religious people. To do the work, the team of researchers - which has made a name for itself in the field of evangelicals and politics - has received a $204,000 grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, a national and international philanthropy based in Philadelphia that supports nonprofit activities in the areas of culture, education, the environment, health and human services, public policy and religion. Smidt, Green, Guth and Kellstedt will survey 5,000 Americans in a two-part effort. The quartet will interview people this spring and then will re-interview those randomly selected people immediately after the national elections in November. The first survey will probe as to the person's religious affiliation, beliefs and activities, and involvement with non-religious organizations such as civic groups. It also will ask the extent to which their pastors address political issues in their local congregations as well as the political positions on various issues of the person being surveyed and the person's evaluations of various candidates and groups. Smidt and his colleagues will interpret and analyze these data this summer and get a sense of the mood and disposition of various religious groups prior to the elections - elections they obviously will watch with keen interest through their prognosticator's lenses. After the November 1996 elections, the team will ask specific questions of the 5,000 about things such as whether or not political literature was made available at church and whether religious groups tried to mobilize them to vote. The team also will probe people's voting patterns at the presidential and congressional level. Smidt notes that the 5,000-person survey represents a larger-than-usual sample size for a survey. Many overnight, television surveys are fewer than 1,000 people. A very good survey sample size might be 1,500 to 2,500 people. Smidt said that the prevalence of smaller religious groups across the United States necessitates a bigger sample size, so that the team can be confident of its data. The increasing influence of such groups as the Christian Coalition, under the direction of Pat Robertson and Ralph Reed, and the ability of conservative Christian groups to both mobilize voters and impact races lends increasing significance to the work of Smidt and his colleagues. The four-man team believes that 1996 may be a "pivotal year in the integration of evangelicals into the mainstream of American public life," following by 20 years the political interest aroused by Jimmy Carter and a year (1976) that was dubbed "the year of the evangelical." The work of Smidt, Green, Guth and Kellstedt will be instrumental in determining whether or not the same claim will be made of 1996. Cross-References to Related Articles: #1996-014: Calvin Professor Part of Survey of Clergy on Political Attitudes Contact List: Phil DeHaan, Director of Media Relations, Calvin College 3201 Burton St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 * O: (616) 957-6000 * F: (616) 957-8551 * E-Mail: DEHP@Calvin.edu Dr. John Green, Professor of Political Science, University of Akron 302 Buchtel Common, University of Akron, Akron OH 44325-1904 * O: (216) 972-5182 * FAX: (216) 374-8860 Dr. James Guth, Professor of Political Science, Furman University 3300 Poinsett Hwy, Greenville, SC 29613 * O: (803) 294-3330 * FAX: (803) 239-3530 Dr. Lyman Kellstedt, Professor of Political Science, Wheaton College Department of Political Science, Wheaton College, 501 East College, Wheaton, IL 60187 O: (708) 752-5899 * FAX: (708) 752-5807 Dr. Corwin Smidt, Professor of Political Science, Calvin College College Center 222, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 * O: (616) 957-6233 * FAX: (616) 957-8551 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr96-021.txt .