Vote, Classe Sociale et Religion/Pratique Religieuse
In: Res publica: politiek-wetenschappelijk tijdschrift van de Lage Landen ; driemaandelijks tijdschrift, Band 17, Heft 4, S. 479-490
ISSN: 0486-4700
An initial analysis was made of the relationship between political voting in Belgium in 1974, & SC & religion. The vote (N=968) was broken down into political party, SC, region (Wallonia, Flanders, & Brussels) & religion (practicing Catholics, nonpracticing Catholics, & non-Catholics). For each, the degree of 'fragmentation' (D. Rae & M. Taylor, THE ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL CLEAVAGES, New Haven & London: Yale U Press, 1970) was calculated; it measures the probability that any pair of individuals belongs to 2 different categories. The most homogeneous electorate is that of the liberal party in Wallonia & Brussels & that of the PSB in Flanders; the most heterogeneous in Wallonia is that of the Socialist- Christians. The Socialist-Christian party is the least fragmented overall. Also calculated was the 'index of relative party preference' (A. Lijphart, THE POLITICS OF ACCOMMODATION, Berkeley & Los Angeles: U of California Press, 1968), which indicates whether the percentage of the proportion of votes that a social category accords to a party is superior or inferior to the percentage of that category, in relation to the entire population; it is a measure of the political strength of a party. The strength of the parties is quite homogeneous throughout Belgium. 4 Tables. Modified HA.