Secular Evangelicals: Faith-Based Organizing and Four Modes of Public Religion

• In Event: 2218 - Public Religions in Comparative-Historical Perspective

Abstract

This paper outlines an analytic typology involving four distinct modes of public religion—secularist, generalist, particularist, and exclusivist—and assesses their practice among white American evangelicals. In the first mode, religious expression is discouraged in multifaith contexts; in the other three, it is encouraged—but in differing ways. In light of white evangelicals’ high-intensity, high-identity religiosity, we expect they would prefer modes of public religion that emphasize (rather than downplay) religious expression even when participating in multifaith contexts. However, when we examined instances of white evangelicals participating in multifaith contexts across the U.S., we found a different dynamic occurring. Rather than emphasizing public religious expression, white evangelicals in such settings tended to downplay it. Qualitative data from participant observation research in Portland, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Boston suggests that, when white evangelicals participate in multifaith contexts, they tend to operate in a secularist mode of public religion that avoids or restrains religious expression rather than modes that encourage religious expression. To assess the generalizability of our qualitative data, we analyze data from the National Study of Community Organizing Organizations (NSCOO). Our quantitative results provide strong corroborating evidence that white evangelicals are more likely to participate in community-based organizations that operate in a secularist rather than religious mode. Overall, we report two key findings: First, white evangelicals participating in multifaith contexts prefer to operate in a secularist mode. If, despite this preference, such settings do incorporate extensive religious expression, white evangelicals tend to prefer a particularist rather than a generalist mode.

Authors

• Wes Markofski, Carleton College

• Brad R. Fulton, Indiana University

• Richard L. Wood, University of New Mexico