Laura R. Olson

Religion and politics are never far from the headlines, but their relationship remains complex and often confusing. This book offers an engaging, accessible, and balanced treatment of religion in American politics. It explores the historical, cultural, and legal contexts that motivate religious political engagement and assesses the pragmatic and strategic political realities that religious organizations and people face. Incorporating the best and most current scholarship, the authors examine the evolving politics of Roman Catholics; evangelical and mainline Protestants; African-American and Latino traditions; Jews, Muslims, and other religious minorities; recent immigrants and religious "nones"; and other conventional and not-so-conventional American religious movements. New to the Sixth Edition• Covers the 2016 election and assesses the role of religion from Obama to Trump.• Expands substantially on religion’s relationship to gender and sexuality, race, ethnicity, and class, and features the role of social media in religious mobilization.• Adds discussion questions at the end of every chapter, to help students gain deeper understanding of the subject.• Adds a new concluding chapter on the normative issues raised by religious political engagement, to stimulate lively discussions.

Women clergy now account for approximately 10 percent of religious leaders in the United States. As their numbers grow, so too does their political influence. This book examines the effects of gender, professional experience, and religious belief on the political attitudes and activism of clergywomen. Based on qualitative analysis of Interviews with 54 women ministers and rabbis in four different American cities (Washington, D. C., Milwaukee, Omaha, and Indianapolis) and quantitative analysis of a national survey of other clergy, this study breaks new ground in specifically addressing the political priorities, agendas, strategies, and actions of clergywomen. The authors' research probes beyond the traditional stereotypes of women clergy as either a silent, oppressed minority or the cutting edge of an elite feminist vanguard. Though women ministers and rabbis face professional and political restraints that stem from long-standing religious norms about gender roles, in many circumstances their gender can be an asset. Though the same constraints make it risky for some clergywomen to assume visible roles on divisive cultural and political issues, many do, even on controversial issues, such as gay rights and abortion. Women with a Mission also sheds light on the broader phenomenon of the political mobilization of professionals in general: how the idiosyncrasies of one's profession affect political attitudes and actions. In this way, it contributes to a national, rather than a regional or denominational, discussion of gender and politics.

Religion and politics are never far from the headlines, but their relationship remains complex and often confusing. This book offers an engaging, accessible, and balanced treatment of religion in American politics. It explores the historical, cultural, and legal contexts that motivate religious political engagement and assesses the pragmatic and strategic political realities that religious organizations and people face. Incorporating the best and most current scholarship, the authors examine the evolving politics of Roman Catholics; evangelical and mainline Protestants; African-American and Latino traditions; Jews, Muslims, and other religious minorities; recent immigrants and religious "nones"; and other conventional and not-so-conventional American religious movements. New to the Sixth Edition• Covers the 2016 election and assesses the role of religion from Obama to Trump.• Expands substantially on religion’s relationship to gender and sexuality, race, ethnicity, and class, and features the role of social media in religious mobilization.• Adds discussion questions at the end of every chapter, to help students gain deeper understanding of the subject.• Adds a new concluding chapter on the normative issues raised by religious political engagement, to stimulate lively discussions.