Sept. 24, 2012
What role will the Catholic vote play in the upcoming general election? A panel of scholars who study faith and politics will set out to answer this question and more on Sept. 27 when Catholic University hosts The Catholic Vote.
"The panel discussion is not intended to sway the attendees to either political party," says Kyra Lyons, executive director of the Office of Alumni Relations, the office cosponsoring the event. "Rather, we hope to provide information and statistics about how American Catholics tend to vote, how they might vote this November, and what might be appealing about each candidate to this group."
The panel will consist of four CUA faculty: William Dinges, professor of theology and religious studies; Matthew Green, associate professor of politics; John Kenneth White, professor of politics; and Stephen Schneck, professor of politics, director of CUA's Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies, and acting dean of the National Catholic School of Social Service. Sheilah Kast, CUA alumna and host of "Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast" on WYPR, will act as moderator.
"This is an important election, but general news sources often don't get below the surface," says Kast. "If you get your news from Fox or MSNBC, you're going to hear only one side of what's going on. This discussion will be a chance to hear the conclusions of political scientists who invest a lot of time and effort into understanding why voters are deciding the way they are.
"As moderator, I see my job as mostly making sure people who come to the lecture get their questions addressed. But, I'm certainly looking forward to getting in a few questions of my own."
Each professor brings a different area of expertise to the panel. Dinges specializes in religion, particularly Catholicism, in America and the intersection of religion and culture. Schneck's research focuses on the way religion informs modern political issues. Green is an expert on Congress, partisanship, and presidential-congressional relations. White is a presidential scholar with special expertise on the history of the American Catholic electorate.
"It has been said that the Catholic vote is key to determining the outcome of an election. That was certainly true 50 plus years ago when John F. Kennedy won a decisive majority of Catholics. Today, things have changed," says White. "To what extent do Catholics bring their religious identities into the voting booth? And to what extent does ethnic heritage trump religious identity? These answers and more await us in November 2012."
According to Lyons, the panel will examine the potential impact of voting Catholics on the outcome of the U.S. elections, how presidential candidates may pursue this population, and the ways American Catholics express their values and opinions using their vote.
The discussion will take place in the Great Hall of Father O'Connell Hall on Thursday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m., and is free and open to the public. The event is sponsored by the CUA Office of Alumni Relations and the CUA Alumni Association.