The Truth about Conservative Christians: What They Think and What They Believe [Hardcover]

Andrew M. Greeley (Author), Michael Hout (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2006

Ever since the reelection of President Bush, conservative Christians have been stereotyped in the popular media: Bible-thumping militants and anti-intellectual zealots determined to impose their convictions on such matters as evolution, school prayer, pornography, abortion, and homosexuality on the rest of us. But conservative Christians are not as fanatical or intractable as many people think, nor are they necessarily the monolithic voting block or political base that kept Bush in power. 

Andrew M. Greeley and Michael Hout's eye-opening book expertly conveys the complexity, variety, and sensibilities of conservative Christians, dispelling the myths that have long shrouded them in prejudice and political bias. For starters, Greeley and Hout reveal that class and income have trumped moral issues for these Americans more often than we realize: a dramatic majority of working-class and lower-class conservative Christians backed liberals such as Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton during their runs for president. And when it comes to abortion, most conservative Christians are not consistently pro-life in the absolute fashion usually assumed: they are still more likely to oppose the practice than other Americans, but 86 percent of them are willing to tolerate it to protect the health of the mother or when the woman has been raped, and 22 percent of them are even pro-choice.

What do conservative Christians really think about evolution, homosexuality, or even the meaning of the word of God? Answering these questions and more, The Truth about Conservative Christians will interest—and surprise—a broad range of readers, especially in this heated election year. 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Andrew Greeley and Michael Hout, two sociologists, explode some cherished myths."—Economist

(Economist )

About the Author

Andrew M. Greeley is on the staff of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and is professor of social science at the University of Arizona. He is the author of numerous books, most recently Priests: A Calling in Crisis. Michael Hout is professor of sociology and chair of the joint program in demography and sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is coauthor of Inequality by Design.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226306623
• ISBN-13: 978-0226306629
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #120,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great empirical study of evangelicalism in America, December 13, 2006

By 

R. Dailey (Durham, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Truth about Conservative Christians: What They Think and What They Believe (Hardcover)

The authors do an outstanding job of using empirical data to show how complex the evangelical subculture really is. Although not an evangelical, I had long suspected that the movement's de facto leadership glossed over many of its internal differences and divisions. The data largely bear this out.

Some of the data in the book amount to little more than interesting trivia. For example, more than half of single evangelical adults do not practice sexual abstinance. But in addition to such trivia, the book also uncovers broader trends within the movement. For example, the views of educated, white-collar evangelicals track very differently on many issues from those of less educated working-class evangelicals.

After reading this book, I wondered whether evangelical leaders even understand the people who sit in their pews every week. For the past several years I have been trying to find a book that would help me to understand what makes evangelicalism tick. I read several books written by evangelicals and non-evangelicals. All painted the evangelical subculture as monolithic, but none gave the same picture. After reading this book I got my answer as to what makes the evangelical subculture tick: nothing in particular. Evangelicals seem to vary a lot depending on their level of education, their degree of wealth, their professions, and their zip code.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be requred for left-wing idelogues - and everyone else, January 5, 2007

By 

Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Truth about Conservative Christians: What They Think and What They Believe (Hardcover)

Stereotypes are a convenient shorthand for the ignorant. They allow a person to communicate a favored interpretation of a group in a word or two. "Fundamentalist Christian", for example, is often used perjoratively to describe a group that is imagined to possess intense religious beliefs and live according to very restrictive and narrow beliefs.

In this book, which is composed almost entirely of statistical tables, authors Greeley and Hout put that stereotype to the test the validity of the stereotype.

It is fascinating reading.

The authors define Conservative Christianity as a religious movement whose "[m]embers seek a religious practice consistent with a relatively small number of basic principles tht are rooted in scripture". The widely held and broadcast stereotype is that "Conservative Christians are a juggernaut bent on undoing liberty, equality and the fraternity of nations. Power-mad hypocrites, the mask hate with love, a judgmental streak with pieties, exclusion with appeals to inclusion and monoculture in the name of diversity." And that's one of the nicer left-wing stereotypes of the Conservative Christians.

The authors, both social scientists, announce that their mission is to deliver "facts about Conservative Christians". And they do.

Thy provide 172 pages of data drawn from surveys and studies conducted over the past several decades. Among the many myths destroyed is that all Conservative Christians vote for Republicans. In fact, only 7 percent more of them vote for Republicans than what the authors deem Mainline Protestants. The range of subjects studied by the authors is impressive.

Statisics and statistical analysis can be terribly dry. To their credit, the authors manage to keep it interested for the dedicated reader. Unfortunately most readers will not be that dedicated. It would have been a fine service if the authors had provided something of an executive summary presenting all of their findings in bullet form. The less-motivated reader would at least be able to take away the highlights.

For those who seriously seek understanding, this book is highly recommended.

Jerry

36 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars No surprises here unless you live in the North East and read the NYT, September 11, 2006

By 

K. Murphy (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Truth about Conservative Christians: What They Think and What They Believe (Hardcover)

I'm a conservative Christian, and while I supported Jimmy Carter at the time, his performace and policies cured me from seriously considering voting for any Democrat for President since then. And it should be of no surprise that conservative Christians don't rule out abortion when the life of the mother is indeed at risk. Conservative Christians are conservative, not stupid.

Liberals indeed hold many stereotypes of conservative Christians. If they knew us better they would realize that we are the strongest defenders of our country and its freedoms that we have. After all, the blessings that we have in America today came about through the enlightenment and the Great Awakening.