Bolstering an Illusory Majority: The Effects of the Media's Portrayal of Death Penalty Support

Objective . Researchers have found a distinct difference between expressed support for the death penalty (which garners a majority of Americans) and expressed preference for the death penalty over other sentences (which attracts only a minority). Despite the strength of this finding in academic circles, the media tend to cover the death penalty as if it were indisputably favored by a majority of Americans. This article tests the effect of this disparity in coverage. Methods . Using an experimental design, respondents were placed in three groups: Condition 1 read a typical media portrayal depicting widespread support for the death penalty, Condition 2 read a realistic portrayal of the mix of preferences for the death penalty and an alternative sentence, and Condition 3 (the control group) read an article unrelated to the death penalty. Results . Compared to the control group and Condition 1, those who read a more realistic account of public opinion on the death penalty (Condition 2) were less supportive of capital punishment, more likely to think death penalty opponents would talk comfortably about their position, and believed the death penalty would become less prevalent in the future. Conclusions . These findings suggest that the unrealistic media portrayal of public opinion on the death penalty is bolstering a sense of inevitability about the issue.     

Religion and Abortion Attitudes Among U.S. Hispanics: Findings from the 1990 Latino National Political Survey*

Objective. The goal of this article is to examine the relationship between religious involvement, gauged mainly in terms of affiliation and frequency of attendance at services, and abortion attitudes among three major Hispanic subgroups: Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans. Method. The study analyzes data from the Latino National Political Survey, a sample of over 2,700 U.S. Hispanics completed in 1990. Results. Committed (i.e., regularly attending) Hispanic Protestants, most of whom belong to conservative groups, are more strongly pro‐life than any other segment of the Latino population, and are much more likely than others to support a total abortion ban. Committed Catholics also tend to hold pro‐life views, but they are relatively more likely to endorse an abortion ban that includes exceptions for rape, incest, and threats to the mother's life. Less devoted Catholics and Protestants generally do not differ from religiously unaffiliated Hispanics in their abortion views. There are also modest variations in the links between religious involvement and abortion attitudes across the three Latino subgroups. Conclusion. Religious factors are highly important predictors of Hispanics' preferences regarding abortion policies. Contrary to some previous discussions, it is committed Protestants, more so than Catholics, who are the staunchest opponents of abortion in the Latino population.     

The Influence of Spanish‐Language Media on Latino Public Opinion and Group Consciousness*

Objective. This article determines if the use of Spanish‐language media among Latinos influences public opinion on various policy issues and group consciousness. Methods. Using a 2004 national public opinion survey of U.S. Latinos, a multivariate analysis is run to determine the effect of language media preference on immigration policy, abortion, same‐sex marriage, and three measures of group consciousness. Results. I find more frequent use of Spanish‐language media leads to more liberal attitudes toward immigration, but has no effect on opinions toward abortion and same‐sex marriage. I also find increased use of Spanish‐language media leads to increased levels of group consciousness. Conclusions. The differences in attitudes are due to the diverging goals of Spanish‐language and English‐language media. The effect of using Spanish‐language media serves to promote a sense of group consciousness among Latinos by reinforcing roots in Latin America and the commonalities among Latinos of varying national origin.     

Voting for Catholic Candidates: The Evolution of a Stereotype*

Objectives. This article looks at the effects of candidate Catholicism on individual voters, turning the traditional inquiry into voters' religion on its head. Specifically, it hypothesizes that individuals stereotype Catholic candidates based on the voting behavior of Catholics in general, and that these stereotypes help voters make a decision in elections with Catholic candidates. Methods. Using data from the American National Election Studies (ANES), this article argues that citizens hold stereotypes of Catholics based on actual Catholic political behavior—solidly Democratic from the 1950s to the 1970s, but trending Republican starting in the 1980s. It also tests these stereotypes with Gallup data on hypothetical Catholic candidates and analyzes, through election‐day exit polls, the impact on voters of the Catholic conversion of a sitting U.S. Senator. Results. The data analyses strongly support the article's hypothesis, demonstrating that partisan attitudes toward hypothetical Catholic candidates shifted direction as the Catholic electorate shifted. In addition, Senator Sam Brownback's (R‐KS) conversion to Catholicism increased partisan polarization in his support—indicating a conservative shift in perceptions. Conclusions. Candidate religion plays a role in elections. Specifically, voters stereotype candidates based on candidate religion and use this stereotyped information to help them make an electoral decision. This article demonstrates this effect for Catholicism, but other religions should evidence similar impacts.     

Religion, Race/Ethnicity, and Beliefs about Poverty

Objective . Although an expanding literature on "stratification beliefs" has developed over the past three decades, research has neglected relationships between religion and beliefs about poverty and other inequalities. This study examines the relationship between religious affiliation and "individualistic,""structuralist," and "fatalistic" beliefs about the causes of poverty, and compares the beliefs of African Americans, Latinos, and whites. Methods . Survey data collected in 1993 from a sample of southern Californians are used to test whether several religious affiliations (Protestant, Catholic, Jew, "other religion," and nonaffiliation) shape beliefs about poverty after controlling for race/ethnicity, SES, gender, and age. In addition, the question of whether African Americans, Latinos, and whites differ in the effects of key religious affiliations is examined. Results . Significant religious affiliation effects are found, net of sociodemographic controls. Protestants and Catholics are strongest on individualistic beliefs; Jews and followers of "other" religions are strongest on structuralist beliefs; Catholics and Jews are strongest on fatalistic beliefs. Finally, race/ethnic differences are found for the effects of key religious affiliations. Conclusion . The analyses demonstrate "religious factors" shaping beliefs about poverty, and reinforce the growing body of evidence that affiliations such as Protestant and Catholic have distinctive meanings and effects along race/ethnic lines in the United States.     

Raising Considerations: Public Opinion and the Fair Application of the Death Penalty*

Objectives. A major justification for capital punishment is its perceived public support, yet common measures of public opinion do not capture the complexity of death penalty attitudes. This research, first, examines the stability of attitudes regarding the fair application of the death penalty when those attitudes are expressed within the context of an enlarged pool of considerations about its administration and, second, evaluates the directional effect of the considerations on those attitudes. Methods. Data from a national telephone survey that capture the complexity of these attitudes are analyzed using ordered probit estimation. Results. These results indicate substantial instability in attitudes regarding the fair application of capital punishment given the context of more pertinent considerations. Furthermore, within this context respondents tend to indicate that the death penalty is less fairly applied. Conclusion. The justification for capital punishment may rest on oversimplified conceptions of attitudes toward the death penalty and its application.     

Every life is sacred…kind of: Uncovering the sources of seemingly contradictory public attitudes toward abortion and the death penalty

Many scholars have studied public attitudes about abortion and the death penalty, but few have studied the coincidence of strong anti-abortion and pro-death penalty attitudes. What factors best explain how someone can find willful taking of life abhorrent in one context but justified in another? We find that the desire to see criminals punished, combined with a literalist orientation toward the Bible, best predict membership in the pro-life/pro-death penalty group. Policy implications flow directly from these findings. The pro-life/pro-death penalty group likely constitutes approximately 5% of the U.S. population and their literalist, punitive stance toward crime and punishment has ramifications for all crime control policy, not just capital punishment.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: BALLYMURPHY: A TALE OF TWO SURVEYS by A. E. C. W. Spencer. THE ELDERLY IN GROUPED DWELLINGS: A PROFILE by Duncan Boldy, Pat Abel and Kenneth Carter. THE NEW SERVICE SOCIETY by Russell Lewis. EQUALITY AND CITY SCHOOLS, edited by John Raynor and Jane Harden. KNOWLEDGE AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CLASSICAL ARGUMENT IN THE SOCIOLOG Y OF KNOWLEDGE by Peter Hamilton, Routledge and Kegan Paul. MAKING PEOPLE PA Y by Paul Rock. RESIDENTIAL ESTABLISHMENTS. THE EVOLVING OF CARING SYSTEMS. CASEWORK by Florence Hollis. APPROACHES TO INSANITY by Jeff Coulter, Martin Robertson. INTRODUCTION TO GROUP WORK SKILL by Fred Milson, Routledge and Kegan Paul. WHICH WAY MONOPOLY POLICY? by George Polanyi. CITIES, COMMUNITIES AND THE YOUNG: READINGS IN URBAN EDUCATION VOLUME I. Edited by John Rayner and Jane Harden, Routledge and Kegan Paul. POLICY MAKING IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION, 1870–1895 by Gillian Sutherland. FAMILY DOCTORS AND PUBLIC POLICY by John R. Butler, Routledge and Kegan Paul.     

Attitudes toward capital punishment: Educational,demographic, and neighborhood crime influences

Studying attitudes toward capital punishment has been a topic of interest for decades. Indeed, it is often the subject of Gallup polls, political commentary, and social science research. Research indicates that attitudes vary by demographic factors, educational influences, and neighborhood crime rates. Building on prior research, the current study examined death penalty attitudes among 599 college students and 213 residents from high crime and low crime neighborhoods. In particular, the research investigated differences between how students and residents view the death penalty as no research to date has analyzed this issue. The authors also analyzed how different populations perceived the impact of race on the administration of the death penalty. Results suggested that demographics, especially race, have the strongest impact on death penalty attitudes, but that there are few differences between students and residents and those living in high and low crime neighborhoods.     

Morality policy processes in advanced industrial democracies

In recent years, several countries have experienced widespread, intense debates about morality issues such as the death penalty, abortion, ART/stem cell research, same-sex marriage, and euthanasia. Assuming the distinctiveness of morality policies from other policy fields, this article analyses three alternative institutional models for explaining variations in the amount of conflict over these morality issues across 24 Western democracies. Is either the US-developed “policy type” model or the European-developed “two worlds” of morality politics, based on religious and secular party systems, applicable more broadly? Are there regional patterns (Europe and non-Europe) to any institutional findings? How does each model contribute to our understanding of morality policy comparatively across Western democracies? We find broader cross-national support for the policy type model, with the two worlds model largely restricted to Europe. The US has more morality policy conflict because of its unusual combination of a political party targeting religiously oriented voters within an institutional framework of multiple venues. The US and other non-European countries have similar patterns of institutional deliberation through decentralization, and the US also has similarities in multiple venues with religious party systems in Europe. Secular European party systems with centralized institutions have the fewest venues for morality policy debate.     

Religion and attitudes toward same-sex marriage among U.S. Latinos

Objectives. This study examines links between multiple aspects of religious involvement and attitudes toward same-sex marriage among U.S. Latinos. The primary focus is on variations by affiliation and participation, but the possible mediating roles of biblical beliefs, clergy cues, and the role of religion in shaping political views are also considered.Methods. We use binary logistic regression models to analyze data from a large nationwide sample of U.S. Latinos conducted by the Pew Hispanic Forum in late 2006.Results. Findings highlight the strong opposition to same-sex marriage among Latino evangelical (or conservative) Protestants and members of sectarian groups (e.g., LDS), even compared with devout Catholics. Although each of the hypothesized mediators is significantly linked with attitudes toward same-sex marriage, for the most part controlling for them does not alter the massive affiliation/attendance differences in attitudes toward same-sex marriage.Conclusions. This study illustrates the importance of religious cleavages in public opinion on social issues within the diverse U.S. Latino population. The significance of religious variations in Hispanic civic life is likely to increase with the growth of the Latino population and the rising numbers of Protestants and sectarians among Latinos.     

Maternal Religiosity,Family Resources and Stressors,and Parent–Child Attachment Security in Northern Ireland

This study explores the associations between mothers' religiosity, and families' and children's functioning in a stratified random sample of 695 Catholic and Protestant mother–child dyads in socially deprived areas in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a region which has experienced centuries of sectarian conflict between Protestant Unionists and Catholics Nationalists. Findings based on mother and child surveys indicated that even in this context of historical political violence associated with religious affiliation, mothers' religiosity played a consistently positive role, including associations with multiple indicators of better family functioning (i.e., more cohesion and behavioral control and less conflict, psychological distress, and adjustment problems) and greater parent–child attachment security. Mothers' religiosity also moderated the association between parent–child attachment security and family resources and family stressors, enhancing positive effects of cohesion and mother behavioral control on mother–child attachment security, and providing protection against risks associated with mothers' psychological distress. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for understanding the role of religiosity in serving as a protective or risk factor for children and families.     

The political orientation of Blacks and Whites: Converging,diverging, or remaining constant?

This paper examines the extent to which patterns of public opinion between Blacks and Whites have converged, diverged, or remained constant since the late1970s. It explores how trends in public opinion reflect a decline in the role of race in the formation of pubic opinion. The findings show a slight convergence of public opinion between Blacks and Whites on some issues and stabilization on others depending of the nature of the issue. The data also showed that the magnitude of difference on most issues, other than those related to race, rarely constituted anything more than a gap in public opinion and not a gulf of chasm. The fact that significant differences continue to exist between Blacks’ and Whites’ public opinions suggest that race is still a significant indicator of opinion position.     

"In My Opinion . . .": Justices' Opinion Writing in the U.S. Supreme Court, 1946–1997

Objectives . We develop hypotheses to explain the opinion writing by justices on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1946–1997. Methods . We use data from the U.S. Supreme Court Database, Phases I and II, to examine the proportion of cases in which a justice writes an opinion each term as well as the differences between writing majority, dissenting, and concurring opinions. OLS regression with robust standard errors is the estimation procedure. Results . We find that a justice's position as Chief Justice, professional and education background, reputation ranking, and tenure on the Court can explain a justice's opinion writing. At the same time, we discover that particular variables have different affects on writing majority, dissenting, or concurring opinions. Conclusions . This study demonstrates the importance of both structural and personal background variables in explaining judicial behavior. It also shows the importance of analyzing different kinds of judicial opinions when explaining the justices' opinion writing.     

Risk aversion and religion

We use a dataset for a demographically representative sample of the Dutch population that contains a revealed preference risk attitude measure, as well as detailed information about participants’ religious background, to study three issues. First, we find strong confirmatory evidence that more religious people, as measured by church membership or attendance, are more risk averse with regard to financial risks. Second, we obtain some evidence that Protestants are more risk averse than Catholics in such tasks. Third, our data suggest that the link between risk aversion and religion is driven by social aspects of church membership, rather than by religious beliefs themselves.     

Crime,capital punishment,and knowledge: are criminal justice majors better informed than other majors about crime and capital punishment?

Criminal justice agencies increasingly seek better educated employees, who should have greater knowledge of criminal justice issues. This has lead to an increase in the number of students majoring in criminal justice. This study employed a non-random, convenience sampling design of 730 college students of various ranks and majors at a mid-sized, 4-year public university in Michigan to determine what impact a criminal justice education had on knowledge of the death penalty and other criminal justice facts compared to students in other majors. It was found that there was a difference between criminal justice majors and other majors in knowledge about crime and capital punishment; however, the difference was neither widespread nor striking as the authors had hoped.     

Have Americans' Attitudes Become More Polarized?—An Update*

Objective. I examine polarization in public opinion using the method of DiMaggio, Evans, and Bryson (DEB) (1996), but go further than DEB by using newly available years of survey data. Method. Like DEB, I derive aggregate distributional parameters for social groups in each year of the surveys, and then regress the year of the surveys on each parameter. Results. As in DEB's original paper, there is little evidence of general polarization in attitudes between the early 1970s and today. However, while DEB found some evidence that polarization in the public may be the result of polarization in our political system, with the additional years of data this conclusion is inescapable. Conclusions. Although political scientists have recently found polarization among our elected officials on economic issues, it seems clear that members of the public who identify with the partisan labels of our political system are becoming polarized on moral issues.     

SPECIAL ISSUE： EXAMINING THE DEATH PENALTY IN CHINA Abolition or retention： rethinking the death penalty in China

死刑废止论正在成为一种为刑法学界所广泛接受的理念,废止死刑目前也被当作是一项目标而不再根据现实国情和罪情去思考。促进此种理论共识形成的诸多因素之中,极为重要的原因之一,是废止死刑国家的数量统计,以及建立在这一数量统计基础上的“废除死刑是一种世界性潮流和趋势”臆想性认识。客观地看待废止死刑国家的真实数量,反思已经被法学界全面认可的统计数字的非科学性,并深入思索死刑存废的国际现状,对于立足中国国情去理性地思考死刑的存与废,并警惕学术研究中的数字陷阱和数字诱导,意义重大。从中国的历史阶段和整体情况来看,死刑在中国不宜立即废除。     

SPECIAL ISSUE： EXAMINING THE DEATH PENALTY IN CHINA Abolishing the death penalty：the logical necessity of the irrationality of the death penalty

死刑渐废论者的逻辑是：死刑不合理、不人道,但是在当前中国,由于国情、文明程度的特定性,又具有合理性,这是一个矛盾的结论。不合理的就应该摒弃。将传统文化、文明现状以及民众的态度与死刑的废止结合起来是知识者的精神自虐。正如死刑存在的原因从来不是民意一样,死刑废止的阻力也从来不是来自于民意。哲学家并不掌握死刑存废的政治权力,正如死刑的存在最有利于政治权力的贯彻一样,终结的动力来源于国家政治权力,来源于国家政治权力的代表者——政治家。     

公众舆论与外交政策——现实主义与自由主义的比较

本文以现实主义和自由主义国际关系理论流派的发展、演变为视角,着力探讨了公众舆论与外交政策的互动机制以及其作为影响国家间关系的重要变量所具有的理论内涵;并对公众舆论是否具有理性,是否具有真实性、价值性等相关问题进行了比较分析与说明。