Evangelical Crackup?

Paul A. Djupe teaches Political Science at Denison University. He is the coauthor of God Talk: Experimenting with the Religious Causes of Public Opinion with Brian R. Calfano and the editor of Religion and Political Tolerance: Advances in the State of the Art (both Temple). He is also the editor of the Religious Engagement in Democratic Politics series with Temple.Ryan L. Claassen is Professor of Political Science at Kent State University. He is the author of Godless Democrats and Pious Republicans?: Party Activists, Party Capture, and the "God Gap."

“Scholars of this and future generations will spend untold hours, even lifetimes, sifting through the ashes of the 2016 presidential election. This excellent book, The Evangelical Crackup?, provides an invaluable foundation for that scholarship.”-Randall Balmer, John Phillips Professor in Religion and Director, Society of Fellows at Dartmouth College, and author of Evangelicalism in America “Evangelical support for Donald Trump in 2016 seemed inconsistent with many of our standard theories and explanations. In this essential volume, Djupe and Claassen have assembled essays by the leading scholars of evangelical politics to help us better understand the role of evangelicals in the 2016 election and beyond. Scholars and citizens interested in evangelicals, in American elections, or in contemporary politics will find these essays invaluable.”-Clyde Wilcox, Professor of Government, Georgetown University, and author of God’s Warriors: The Christian Right in 20th Century America "The Evangelical Crackup? gives readers a deeper, more accurate and nuanced look at evangelicals and Trump."-Christian Post "Djupe and Claassen attempt to explain the paradox of self-described Christian Evangelicals who condemn what they consider sexual immorality and yet overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. The bottom line is that evangelical voters are pragmatic and issue oriented.... Summing up: Recommended."-Choice "The coalition between the Evangelical Christians and the Republicans is an important key to understanding the Trump phenomenon, and to explain his relatively big support among voters, in spite of the fact that he is on collision course with a number of the party's key values. Contributions from a wide span of top academics turn this book into a thorough analysis of the big contradictions of our time."-Ny Tid "The editors of this compelling volume of essays use this historical moment as a lens for unpacking the complex relationship between Evangelicalism and support for the Republican Party.... The book should be of interest to those who want to better understand the Christian Right in an era where old organizations like the Christian Coalition exist with a fraction of their former affiliates.... [A] major insight of the volume is that elite Evangelical leaders and groups shape popular and media discourse much more than they shape individual vote choice.... [A] robust collection of essays."-Politics, Religion & Identity "The Evangelical Crackup?’s greatest strength is in its theoretical and methodological breadth.... Each chapter builds a strong theoretical argument that sets up well-thought-out research questions, which then are tested using appropriate methods.... It collects an array of well-theorized, well-conducted research on a topical issue of substantive importance."-Teaching Sociology "[T]his is a comprehensive study of the persistent bonds that connect evangelical Christianity and Republican politics. It is an indispensable guide for those interested in religion and politics in the context of the 2016 vote and beyond. The book even has implications that extend beyond the study of American politics: a major theme underlying the 'crackup' question, the disconnect between elites and their traditional bases, is a central point of debate for many other societies in the West."-Politics and Religion