Using Sermons to Study Religions’ Influence on Political Participation

• In Event: Religion and Political Behavior in Africa

Abstract

Why do people participate in politics? In this project, we consider whether cultural influences—specifically, religious teachings communicated in sermons—can shed light on this question. We document the current diversity of sermon content in contemporary Christian houses of worship in sub-Saharan Africa and then use a combination of laboratory experiments and observational survey data to interrogate both the impact of sermon exposure on political participation and the longevity of that impact. Exposure to sermons is an integral part of life especially in highly religious parts of the world, and differences in sermon content can yield leverage over variation in political behavior where other aspects of religion (degree of practice, social identity salience, social network embeddedness) vary little. We discuss the advantages and limitations of this way of disaggregating religion (and culture) to get a methodological handle on its impact. We also discuss possibilities for integrating attention to sermon content with attention to other aspects of religious practice. Our research leverages the pluralism of sermons in sub-Saharan Africa to gain insight into the content of cultural influences and their consequences for how ordinary citizens participate in politics.

Authors

• Rachel Beatty Riedl, Cornell University

• Gwyneth McClendon, New York University