Item Details
Skip Navigation Links
   ActiveUsers:1106Hits:21166469Skip Navigation Links
Show My Basket
Contact Us
IDSA Web Site
Ask Us
Today's News
HelpExpand Help
Advanced search

In Basket
  Journal Article   Journal Article
 

ID146459
Title ProperWeapons of the meek
Other Title Informationhow churches influence public policy
LanguageENG
AuthorGrzymala-Busse, Anna
ContentsHow do churches influence public policy and why does their influence vary across similarly religious societies? Prevalent accounts focus on the mobilization of voter demand and coalitions with political parties that offer policy concessions in exchange for electoral support. This article argues, by contrast, that such strategies are both risky and costly, and it demonstrates instead the power of direct institutional access for writing legislation, vetting officials, and even running sectors of the state. Such institutional access is available only to churches with high moral authority: those perceived by the public as representing the common good and the national interest. Churches in Christian democracies have gained such moral authority by defending the nation against a foreign regime, state, or colonial power. In short, churches are most influential when they have the high moral authority to obtain direct institutional access—thus avoiding popular backlash against overt and partisan church politicking.
`In' analytical NoteWorld Politics Vol. 68, No.1; Jan 2016: p.1-36
Journal SourceWorld Politics 2016-01 68, 1
Key WordsMobilization ;  Public Policy ;  Christian Democracy ;  Churches Influence ;  Church Politics