When the dust has (thankfully) settled following Election Day, writers on politics, and on religion, and on religion-and-politics, will be analyzing what it all means for the future direction of U.S. culture.
Some matters on the agenda:
* Are the results a fluke, or a trend? What do they signal about 2024? Is the “religious right” a growing or receding force? How will the expected Trump 2024 campaign affect evangelicalism? What will Trumpism be post-Trump? Did the abortion issue hurt Republicans? Did religious liberty issues hurt Democrats? How do moral concerns shape inflation? Immigration? Crime? Ukraine?
* Then factions. What’s going on with the pivotal white Catholics? And Hispanic Catholics? Can Republicans ever make inroads among Black Protestants? Did religiously interesting new figures emerge among the Republicans’ record number of minority candidates?
* Here is a growing niche that should get its own sidebar: How crucial are non-religious voters for Democrats’ prospects?
* Oh, and how should journalists define “Christian Nationalism” and how influential is that crowd anyway?
* And whatever else develops.
Specialists will be familiar with ReligionLink, a valuable service of the Religion News Association that, among other features, posts periodic memos on a specific topic in the news, providing detailed background, links to articles and proposed sources. Subscribe for free here.
Its October 18 posting laid out he midterm elections, listing no less than 76 background items from varied media and 25 expert sources. This material will remain just as useful for those post-election analyses next week and beyond.
After decades working with these kinds of resources, The Guy (1) spots some omissions here worth mention, (2) advocates exploiting expert sources in parochial media and (3) finds the listed resources somewhat thin on conservative voices (#ShockedShocked). Therefore this Memo suggests a few additions to ReligionLink’s recommendations.
First, data. Exit polls on state-level races are notoriously iffy, so your first e-mail well might go to GetReligion’s own Ryan Burge, an Eastern Illinois University political scientist. This premier number-cruncher can assess this year’s polling flubs and put results in the context of existing trends (rpburge@eiu.edu and http://ryanburge.net). For other trend comparisons, search data posted by reliable standby Pew Research Center. As ReligionLink noted, there’s also the Association of Religion Data Archives.
With those ever-bruited evangelicals, writers will surely want to hear from Russell Moore, ex-public policy executive of the Southern Baptist Convention, who’s conservative but early on criticized candidate Donald Trump, and is the new editor in chief of Christianity Today magazine (media@christianitytoday.com or 630-260-6200). Another exiled analyst is Daniel Darling, former communications chief with National Religious Broadcasters, now at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (media contact jasmith@swbts.edu or 817–921-8730).
For historical perspective, along with the critics of conservative Protestants listed by ReligionLink, these publications (.pdf here) highlight the scholarship of Daniel K. Williams at the University of West Georgia (dkwillia@westga.edu and 678–839-6034). See The Guy’s coverage of his latest opus.
Straddling religio-political fences, Michael Wear identifies as evangelical but advised President Barack Obama on faith-based initiatives and directed religious outreach for his 2012 re-election campaign. Wear now leads Public Square Strategies to advise religious, political and business organizations on all this. He can be contacted via his Website.
If searching for a Trump-friendly and religiously knowledgeable outlook on politics, a good bet is Mollie Hemingway, the recently named Editor in Chief of the conservative online magazine The Federalist (contact media@thefederalist.com or 571 358-9028) and author of “Rigged” about technical, financial and political elements of the 2020 election disputes. (This Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod preacher’s kid and frequent Fox News talking head was a onetime GetReligion contributor.)
Here's a “mainline” Protestant and Democratic voice the media should make more use of: active United Methodist Church layman Mike McCurry, former press secretary to President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Warren Christopher. He became a 2013 graduate of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. and is now its “public theology” professor (media contact sgeorge@wesleyseminary.edu or 202–236–9952).
Catholic journalism is shaken up by the year-end demise of Catholic News Service’s domestic coverage and the advent of an independent investigative site, The Pillar, which has infuriated many on both the Catholic left and right. It’s written by J.D. Flynn (jdflynn@pillarctholic.com) and Ed Condon (econdon@pillarcatholic.com).
As always, John Allen Jr., editor of the online Crux, (email through its website) is primus inter pares on the beat. He was a longtimer with the left-leaning National Catholic Reporter, where Heidi Schlumpf (hschlumpf@ncronline.org or 800-333-373) is current executive editor.
Conservatives have the interrelated EWTN News Director and Fox News regular Raymond Arroyo (Raymond@raymondarroyo.com), Catholic News Agency, where Shannon Mullen (news@catholicna.com) is editor in chief, and the 95-year-old National Catholic Register (editor@ewtn.com or 800–356–9916) whose campaign coverage can be scanned here.
Bari Weiss of the “Common Sense” newsletter and author of “How to Fight Anti-Semitism,” has been a powerful pundit writing about Jewish affairs since college days. Not your typical religious voice, she’s also not easily pigeonholed as a conservative but famously skewered a cherished liberal institution as she resigned from The New York Times opinion staff. Also keep in mind Alana Newhouse (info@tabletmag.com), who edits the informative online Jewish magazine Tablet.
hough 57 of 110 Muslim candidates won public office in 2020, the fact that if Republican hopeful Mehmet Oz wins Pennsylvania, he would be the first Muslim in the U.S. Senate has provoked next to zero interest.