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Comparing Political Attitudes of Evangelicals with the Attitudes of Mainline Christians and Non-Church Members in The Netherlands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 October 2017

Paul Vermeer  and
Peer Scheepers
Paul Vermeer*
Affiliation:
Radboud University
Peer Scheepers*
Affiliation:
Radboud University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Paul Vermeer, Radboud University, Department of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, P.O. Box 9103, 6500 HD Nijmegen, The Netherlands. E-mail: p.vermeer@ftr.ru.nl; or to: Peer Scheepers, Radboud University, Department of Sociology, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HD Nijmegen, The Netherlands. E-mail: p.scheepers@maw.ru.nl.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Paul Vermeer, Radboud University, Department of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, P.O. Box 9103, 6500 HD Nijmegen, The Netherlands. E-mail: p.vermeer@ftr.ru.nl; or to: Peer Scheepers, Radboud University, Department of Sociology, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HD Nijmegen, The Netherlands. E-mail: p.scheepers@maw.ru.nl.
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Abstract

Evangelicals are generally considered culturally conservative regarding issues like abortion or homosexuality and sometimes also economically conservative regarding issues like tax reduction. But does this image also apply to Dutch evangelicals who live in a secular environment in which they constitute only a tiny fraction of the number of church members? This article explores the political attitudes of Dutch evangelicals with the help of two research questions: (1) Do Dutch evangelicals hold more conservative political attitudes on economic and cultural issues than Catholics, mainline Protestants and non-church members? and (2) Which decisive factors determine the supposed conservatism among Dutch evangelicals as compared to Catholics, mainline Protestants and non-church members? Analyses of survey data show that Dutch evangelicals are indeed culturally conservative, but more liberal in economic matters. In addition, results also show that their cultural conservatism is related to their religious convictions, while their economic attitudes are unrelated to religion.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , March 2018 , pp. 116 - 145
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2017 

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