Clergy as Political Actors in Urban Contexts

Abstract

Data drawn from a study of local political participation by clergy in Indianapolis are used to examine why clergy in low-income neighborhoods are more likely to be politically active than their counterparts in other neighborhoods. Five hypotheses were tested: self-selection (politically motivated clergy choose low-income congregations); personal stake (clergy working in low-income areas are more aware of social problems & have a personal stake in improving them); membership (low-income churches have members who expect political leadership from their clergy); leadership vacuum (low-income neighborhoods have few professionals other than clergy able to assume leadership roles); & government attention (clergy in low-income neighborhoods are more likely to be asked to participate by government officials or others concerned with government actions). The results of Poisson multiple regression combined with the classic elaboration paradigm showed existence of a leadership vacuum & government attention to be particularly effective mechanisms in mobilizing urban clergy in low-income areas. Self-selection & membership also impacted the higher rate of clergy political activity but personal stake had little effect. 2 Tables. J. Lindroth