Four Decades of Public Views on Abortion: Ideological Polarization or Social Determinants Resurgent?

• In Event: 066 - Section on Political Sociology Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 03. The Politics of Culture

Abstract

Sociologists now have over forty years of detailed survey data about abortion rights in the United States, providing the opportunity for an updated examination of the way attitudes have (or have not) become integrated into broader ideological and partisan frameworks for forming public opinion. This study analyzes this evidence against prior accounts of the social and ideological bases for opinion formation. Opinion polarization based first on liberal vs. conservative ideology and then on partisanship seems to have peaked, leading to a resurgence of surprisingly robust demographic and religious factors. The analysis raises questions about the interrelationship between political and social determinants of public opinion.

Author

• Benjamin Aldrich Moodie, Bates College