Eric McDaniel | The University of Texas at Austin (original) (raw)
Papers by Eric McDaniel
Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews, 2005
National Review of Black Politics
Political science research has shown that attending religious institutions promotes Blacks’ polit... more Political science research has shown that attending religious institutions promotes Blacks’ political participation by developing civic norms, skills, and networks. Fewer studies, however, examine what role religious beliefs play in promoting the political participation of African Americans. Inasmuch as religious beliefs are at the heart of what binds people to their religious institutions, it is also important to examine how variations in the way people conceptualize their religious duties affect their willingness to engage the political system. Thus, this article adds to the existing research by examining two religious belief systems prominent in Afro-Christianity: the Prosperity Gospel, which emphasizes individualism and divine favor; and the Social Gospel, which emphasizes working to achieve a just society. Using original survey data, the analyses find that the Social Gospel is associated with higher levels of political engagement and participation among Blacks, while the Prospe...
Politics and Religion
Most research on the social gospel, a religious interpretation that obliges people to care for th... more Most research on the social gospel, a religious interpretation that obliges people to care for the less fortunate and correct social inequalities, has focused on elite rhetoric. However, it is not clear the extent to which members of the public also adhere to this socioreligious philosophy. The moralistic tone of the 2010 health care reform debate has led many to argue that there is a revival of the social gospel. To what extent has this debate gained traction among citizens writ large? Which individuals will be most likely to be influenced by elite discourse that draws social gospel? Using two unique surveys and an experiment, we demonstrate that Social Gospel adherents have distinctive political attitudes. Specifically, they are more attentive to social policy issues and are more supportive of expanding the social safety net. Second, we demonstrate that elite rhetoric that draws from the Social Gospel tradition can influence policy preferences.
Journal of Black Studies
Scholars argue that the Black church produces religious messages that foster racial cohesion; how... more Scholars argue that the Black church produces religious messages that foster racial cohesion; however, recent examinations of Black religion note the heterogeneity of the messages and beliefs advanced by Black churches. Several argue that this heterogeneity in Black religious beliefs is reflected in Black political beliefs. This study examines the linkage between heterogeneity in Black religious beliefs and heterogeneity in Black political attitudes. Offering measures of the social gospel, prosperity gospel, and Black theology, we demonstrate that each religious belief system is related to different aspects of Black public opinion. The social gospel is linked to continuing the legacy of the civil rights movement, while the prosperity gospel is associated with a departure from its legacy. Meanwhile, Black theology is linked to racial empowerment and extending the boundaries of Black politics.
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Politics, Groups and Identities, 2013
African-American Political Psychology, 2010
As Eric McDaniel demonstrates in his study of Black congregations in the United States, a church'... more As Eric McDaniel demonstrates in his study of Black congregations in the United States, a church's political activism results from complex negotiations between the pastor and the congregation. The church's traditions, culture, and institutional organization influence the choice to make politics part of the church's mission. The needs of the local community and opportunities to vote, lobby, campaign, or protest are also significant factors.
The Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, 2016
The attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 and subsequent military operations in Afgh... more The attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 and subsequent military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq created a sharp increase in expressions of national pride and the invocation of “nation” in political discourse. Using the 1996 and 2004 General Social Surveys, we document these changing patterns of national pride, and ask how they affect conceptions of national identity. We report three main findings. First, the data corroborate the conventional wisdom that there was a greater expression of national pride than before September 11, 2001. Second, conceptions of American national identity became more nativist. Finally, the conventionally accepted distinction between patriots and nationalists has shrunk; patriots, like nationalists, are more likely to express nativist conceptions of national identity during a time of threat than they were pre-9/11. Our findings have important implications for research on group identification and national identity formation.
Religion and the Bush Presidency, 2007
Journal For the Scientific Study of Religion, 2003
The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism, 2015
ABSTRACT Does public support for government action and intervention on a health condition or epid... more ABSTRACT Does public support for government action and intervention on a health condition or epidemic depend on whom the public thinks if most vulnerable? Using a unique set of embedded experiments, we test two treatment dimensions of public support: who is affected (children or elderly; Whites or African Americans); what the illness is (diabetes, depression, obesity, H1N1 flu). Treatments are variations along these two dimensions in a fabricated media story on a health epidemic; our control is a story about property rights over a meteorite. The data are 1,290 respondents in an online survey with Polimetrix. Dependent variables are policy frame items – whether the framing is threat, culpability, punishment, or intervention – and respondents' willingness to pay for specific policies – medical research, free screening, public education, universal coverage, and targeted services for the poor. We find the largest differences in our willingness to pay items. With obesity policy, support is generally greater for whites than blacks and the elderly than children; with depression, support is greater for blacks than whites (except for services for the poor) and (where significant) for children than the elderly; with diabetes preventions, there is much higher levels of support for the elderly than children; finally, with H1N1 prevention, the public is generally more supportive when those at-risk are defined as blacks than whites, and children than elderly.
Politics and Religion, 2011
Political Research Quarterly, 2008
The Republican Party has aggressively attempted to recruit black and Latino Evangelicals; however... more The Republican Party has aggressively attempted to recruit black and Latino Evangelicals; however, the success of these efforts has been questioned. The authors argue that the GOP's diminished success in recruiting these groups, compared to Anglos, is based on differing religious worldviews. Using data that allow them to track partisanship over two decades, the authors examine how religious conservatism has shaped Anglo, Latino, and black partisanship. They find that the GOP has been most successful in recruiting Anglos, followed by Latinos. Blacks appear to be unaffected. In addition, they find support for their underlying assumption of differing religious worldviews among the racial/ethnic groups.
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2003
... Such tools include messages based on racial responsibility and Christian obligation, and thes... more ... Such tools include messages based on racial responsibility and Christian obligation, and these kinds of messages are key to incorporating civic ... Eric McDaniel is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. ...
... 110 Djupe, McDaniel, and Neiheisel again, literalism's effect is not... more ... 110 Djupe, McDaniel, and Neiheisel again, literalism's effect is not significant for blacks. ... This should not be surprising as black religious institutions have repeatedly been found to reinforce a connection to the group and its political agenda (Allen, Dawson, and Brown 1989 ...
Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews, 2005
National Review of Black Politics
Political science research has shown that attending religious institutions promotes Blacks’ polit... more Political science research has shown that attending religious institutions promotes Blacks’ political participation by developing civic norms, skills, and networks. Fewer studies, however, examine what role religious beliefs play in promoting the political participation of African Americans. Inasmuch as religious beliefs are at the heart of what binds people to their religious institutions, it is also important to examine how variations in the way people conceptualize their religious duties affect their willingness to engage the political system. Thus, this article adds to the existing research by examining two religious belief systems prominent in Afro-Christianity: the Prosperity Gospel, which emphasizes individualism and divine favor; and the Social Gospel, which emphasizes working to achieve a just society. Using original survey data, the analyses find that the Social Gospel is associated with higher levels of political engagement and participation among Blacks, while the Prospe...
Politics and Religion
Most research on the social gospel, a religious interpretation that obliges people to care for th... more Most research on the social gospel, a religious interpretation that obliges people to care for the less fortunate and correct social inequalities, has focused on elite rhetoric. However, it is not clear the extent to which members of the public also adhere to this socioreligious philosophy. The moralistic tone of the 2010 health care reform debate has led many to argue that there is a revival of the social gospel. To what extent has this debate gained traction among citizens writ large? Which individuals will be most likely to be influenced by elite discourse that draws social gospel? Using two unique surveys and an experiment, we demonstrate that Social Gospel adherents have distinctive political attitudes. Specifically, they are more attentive to social policy issues and are more supportive of expanding the social safety net. Second, we demonstrate that elite rhetoric that draws from the Social Gospel tradition can influence policy preferences.
Journal of Black Studies
Scholars argue that the Black church produces religious messages that foster racial cohesion; how... more Scholars argue that the Black church produces religious messages that foster racial cohesion; however, recent examinations of Black religion note the heterogeneity of the messages and beliefs advanced by Black churches. Several argue that this heterogeneity in Black religious beliefs is reflected in Black political beliefs. This study examines the linkage between heterogeneity in Black religious beliefs and heterogeneity in Black political attitudes. Offering measures of the social gospel, prosperity gospel, and Black theology, we demonstrate that each religious belief system is related to different aspects of Black public opinion. The social gospel is linked to continuing the legacy of the civil rights movement, while the prosperity gospel is associated with a departure from its legacy. Meanwhile, Black theology is linked to racial empowerment and extending the boundaries of Black politics.
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Politics, Groups and Identities, 2013
African-American Political Psychology, 2010
As Eric McDaniel demonstrates in his study of Black congregations in the United States, a church'... more As Eric McDaniel demonstrates in his study of Black congregations in the United States, a church's political activism results from complex negotiations between the pastor and the congregation. The church's traditions, culture, and institutional organization influence the choice to make politics part of the church's mission. The needs of the local community and opportunities to vote, lobby, campaign, or protest are also significant factors.
The Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, 2016
The attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 and subsequent military operations in Afgh... more The attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 and subsequent military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq created a sharp increase in expressions of national pride and the invocation of “nation” in political discourse. Using the 1996 and 2004 General Social Surveys, we document these changing patterns of national pride, and ask how they affect conceptions of national identity. We report three main findings. First, the data corroborate the conventional wisdom that there was a greater expression of national pride than before September 11, 2001. Second, conceptions of American national identity became more nativist. Finally, the conventionally accepted distinction between patriots and nationalists has shrunk; patriots, like nationalists, are more likely to express nativist conceptions of national identity during a time of threat than they were pre-9/11. Our findings have important implications for research on group identification and national identity formation.
Religion and the Bush Presidency, 2007
Journal For the Scientific Study of Religion, 2003
The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism, 2015
ABSTRACT Does public support for government action and intervention on a health condition or epid... more ABSTRACT Does public support for government action and intervention on a health condition or epidemic depend on whom the public thinks if most vulnerable? Using a unique set of embedded experiments, we test two treatment dimensions of public support: who is affected (children or elderly; Whites or African Americans); what the illness is (diabetes, depression, obesity, H1N1 flu). Treatments are variations along these two dimensions in a fabricated media story on a health epidemic; our control is a story about property rights over a meteorite. The data are 1,290 respondents in an online survey with Polimetrix. Dependent variables are policy frame items – whether the framing is threat, culpability, punishment, or intervention – and respondents' willingness to pay for specific policies – medical research, free screening, public education, universal coverage, and targeted services for the poor. We find the largest differences in our willingness to pay items. With obesity policy, support is generally greater for whites than blacks and the elderly than children; with depression, support is greater for blacks than whites (except for services for the poor) and (where significant) for children than the elderly; with diabetes preventions, there is much higher levels of support for the elderly than children; finally, with H1N1 prevention, the public is generally more supportive when those at-risk are defined as blacks than whites, and children than elderly.
Politics and Religion, 2011
Political Research Quarterly, 2008
The Republican Party has aggressively attempted to recruit black and Latino Evangelicals; however... more The Republican Party has aggressively attempted to recruit black and Latino Evangelicals; however, the success of these efforts has been questioned. The authors argue that the GOP's diminished success in recruiting these groups, compared to Anglos, is based on differing religious worldviews. Using data that allow them to track partisanship over two decades, the authors examine how religious conservatism has shaped Anglo, Latino, and black partisanship. They find that the GOP has been most successful in recruiting Anglos, followed by Latinos. Blacks appear to be unaffected. In addition, they find support for their underlying assumption of differing religious worldviews among the racial/ethnic groups.
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2003
... Such tools include messages based on racial responsibility and Christian obligation, and thes... more ... Such tools include messages based on racial responsibility and Christian obligation, and these kinds of messages are key to incorporating civic ... Eric McDaniel is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. ...
... 110 Djupe, McDaniel, and Neiheisel again, literalism's effect is not... more ... 110 Djupe, McDaniel, and Neiheisel again, literalism's effect is not significant for blacks. ... This should not be surprising as black religious institutions have repeatedly been found to reinforce a connection to the group and its political agenda (Allen, Dawson, and Brown 1989 ...