Voting with the Christian Right: Contextual and Individual Patterns of Electoral Influence

The ability of conservative Christian political organizations to influence local and national political races seems remarkable - made possible through mass distribution of voter guides, magazines, radio advertisement, and political talk show appearances. Research on the Christian Right offers several competing ideas about support for the Christian Right. But little research to date has examined an important means of Christian Right influence in the contemporary politicalprocess: helpingpeople decide how to vote in elections. This article analyzes nationally representative data on the influence of conservative Christian political organizations on voting, and seeks to explain who uses the electoral advice of such organizations, and why. Our results affirm some perceptions of Christian Right influence - that it is higher among evangelical Protestant voters - and challenge others - that it is higher among the elderly, less educated, whites, economically insecure, and southerners. Finally, we provide theoretical arguments and empirical evidence for the importance of accounting for social context to understand the appeal of Christian Right perspectives to the nearly 20% of Americans who claim to be influenced by them.