Nego%a%ng Religion and Race in Immigrant America: La%nos Evangelicals and their Emerging Role in American Poli%cs ong, PhD Janelle W
Asian American Studies and American Studies University of Maryland, College Park La@no Evangelicals, 9 million strong 10% of all Evangelicals Growing Over Time 2010 2013 Difference Evangelical Protestant 12 16 +4 Catholic 67 55 -­‐12 Unaffiliated with Any Religion 10 18 +8 Pew Research Center 2014 Largest and Fastest Growing Immigrant Organiza@ons Templo Calvario, Assemblies of God Church, Santa Ana, California 10,000 Spanish-­‐speaking worshippers Lakewood (Houston, TX) 8,000 Sunday Worshippers at Spanish-­‐language Service Primary Research Ques@ons To what extent do growing numbers of La@no align with their white Evangelical counterparts with regard to poli@cal a^tudes and behavior? Will they add to the conserva@ve Chris@an vo@ng bloc or move poli@cs in a different direc@on? Pew Study -­‐ 2013 La@no Evangelicals “[May] help Republicans take a bite out of the Democra@c advantage with Hispanic voters. They prize the nuclear family. They are largely against abor@on and gay marriage. They also tend to be wealthier than La@no Catholics….” (Rios 2013, np). – Elizabeth Rios TIME Except for Abor@on Views, Less conserva@ve than White Evangelicals White Born Again La@no Born Again Asian Born Again Abor@on Republican PID McCain 0% 2008: CMPS 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% La@no and Asian American Evangelicals Resemble Non-­‐Evangelicals in Opposi@on to Conserva@ve Tax Policy Born Again Other white la@no asian black 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Percent opposing tax break for middle class & tax hike for wealthy 2008: CMPS Only White Born Again Chris@ans Oppose Universal Health Care Born Again Other White La@no Asian Black 0% 2008: CMPS 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Take Home from Mul%variate Models* With few excep@ons, La@no and Asian American Evangelicals less conserva@ve than White Evangelicals and more conserva@ve than Black Evangelicals *Controlling for church anendance, party iden@fica@on, and demographic factors Take Home from Mul%variate Models Born-­‐again iden@ty predicts much wider range of policy views among whites compared to non-­‐whites White Evangelical Policy Agenda Among La8nos, Evangelical iden8ty does not predict a poli8cal agenda Poli%cal Implica%ons • On issues where church encourages strong claim, there is tempered agreement among religious adherents • On issues where church has been less insistent on se^ng an agenda, race maners -­‐-­‐sharp differences between White and non-­‐White evangelicals Very few vo@ng blocs up for grabs. Who will set the agenda? Rev. John Mendez – LIBRE Ini@a@ve END Appendix Self-­‐iden@fied “Evangelical or Born Again” Chris@ans • • • • Chris@ans who place emphasis on spreading one’s faith Believe Jesus sacrificed on the cross for human redemp@on Believe in the inerrancy of the Bible Believe that spiritual renewal is possible when one accepts Jesus as one’s personal savior