(iPoster) Between an Exception and the Rule: Jewish Group Consciousness in America

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  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Religion and Politics

Abstract

What explains sustained liberal ideological norms among groups that have experienced a degree of political incorporation in American politics? Longitudinal data and election returns have shown the disproportionate, but not total, alignment between Jewish Americans and the Democratic Party continuing into the 21st century and more-liberal-than-average policy preferences, despite predictions to the contrary that point to Jewish Americans’ increasing socioeconomic status, education, and civic resources over time. This paper will address the enduring puzzle of Jewish American ideological liberalism and the continued salience of Jewish group consciousness in American politics through examining the construction of ideas and interests ascribed to the group over time at the sociocultural, institutional, and elite level, specifically positing the presence of competing frameworks for group consciousness—exceptionalism and universalism. These two frameworks posit and prescribe different ideas concerning relationships with other religious, racial, and ethnic social groups, lessons from Jewish history, and proposed political alliances. Analyzing periodical data from 1965 to the present using close content analysis and text-as-data methods, this project will trace the development of these contentious discursive norms at the meso level.

Author

• Molly Schiffer, Northwestern University