Religion and Political Behavior 299
degree do adherents identify with a particular religious tradition, and perceive it to be
in conflict with other traditions.
The mechanisms that strengthen or erode religious group conflict have been well
charted. Religious movements can activate new or dormant identities and make salient
group-based conflicts. High levels of religious homogamy and religious mobility are
particularly important for sustaining a sense of group identity (particularly in soci-
eties with competitive religious markets), and the decline of either can be expected
to produce declining religious conflict in general (Wuthnow 1988: Chapter 5; Kalmijn
1991). Similarly, moves toward ecumenicism and away from explicit denominational
competition may reduce group-based identities, although ideological differences be-
tween religious liberals and conservatives may be enhanced as a result (Wuthnow 1988:
Chapter 12; Wuthnow 1993; Lipset and Raab 1995).
It is through the organizational form of party systems that religious divides in so-
cial structure and group identity take on electoral significance. In most early democra-
cies, one or more major parties emerged with the explicit or tacit backing of powerful
churches. These parties often came to be called Christian Democratic parties (usually
in countries with strong Protestant or mixed Protestant/Catholic traditions, but also in
Catholic Italy), while Catholic parties appeared under a variety of names (the Catholic
People’s Party in Austria and the Netherlands, the Popular Republican Movement in
France, and so forth).^2 These religious parties initially sought to mobilize voters on the
basis of religious identity, although over time the more successful parties (most notably,
the Christian Democratic parties of West Germany and Italy) became “catchall” parties
of the right or center-right, with ambitions of appealing to an electoral majority. In
other countries, however, the modern party system was secularized – and direct links
between parties and churches were cut – but even in some of these countries adher-
ents of particular religious traditions sometimes lined up consistently with one party
(with electoral campaigns making more or less explicit attempts to mobilize voters on
religious grounds).^3 In the United States, the allegiance of Catholics and Jews with the
Democratic Party, and evangelical Protestants with the Republican Party, exemplify this
pattern.
Finally, the policy outputs of states provide a crucial feedback mechanism that
reinforces the relevance of religious divisions for political life. The historical origins of
religious parties can often be traced to “state-church” conflicts in which the growing
power of secular states on societies posed a direct threat to church power. More recently,
conflicts over public policies, particularly on issues such as education, gender equality,
or reproductive rights, have the potential to divide voters on the basis of religious
orientation. Such policy conflicts, when they emerge, provide a feedback mechanism
by activating latent religious divisions at the group and organizational level.
Types of Religious Cleavages
There are four distinct religious cleavages that have been shown to be associated with
voting behavior: (a) church attendance; (b) doctrinal beliefs; (c) denominational groups;
(^2) For a comprehensive list of postwar religious parties in Europe, see Lane and Ersson (1994:
103).
(^3) Examples here would include France, Ireland, and Britain. We discuss this issue later.