From Pews to Politics
Religious Sermons and Political Participation in Africa

Using Christianity in Africa, this book demonstrates that cultural influences, specifically religious sermons, can impact political participation.

Gwyneth H. McClendon (Author), Rachel Beatty Riedl (Author)

9781108707978, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 31 March 2022

288 pages, 33 b/w illus. 21 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.43 kg

'From Pews to Politics exemplifies comparative politics scholarship at its best. Through a rare combination of conceptual acuity, methodological dexterity, and conscientious contextual grounding, the authors develop powerful insights into an old question: To what extent do religious ideas influence the content, mode, and degree of individuals' political engagement? …' Elizabeth Sheridan Sperber, Perspectives on Politics

Does religion influence political participation? This book takes up this pressing debate using Christianity in sub-Saharan Africa as its empirical base to demonstrate that religious teachings communicated in sermons can influence both the degree and the form of citizens' political participation. McClendon and Riedl document some of the current diversity of sermon content in contemporary Christian houses of worship and then use a combination of laboratory experiments, observational survey data, focus groups, and case comparisons in Zambia, Uganda, and Kenya to interrogate the impact of sermon exposure on political participation and the longevity of that impact. Pews to Politics in Africa leverages the pluralism of sermons in sub-Saharan Africa to gain insight into the content of cultural influences and their consequences for how ordinary citizens participate in politics.

1. Religion as metaphysical instruction, and its influence on political participation
2. Christianity and politics in Africa
3. Differences in contemporary Christian sermon content
4. Effects of sermons on citizens: evidence from the lab
5. Recharging sermon influence: evidence from surveys and focus groups
6. Group-level political engagement
7. Implications and conclusions.

Subject Areas: Comparative politics [JPB], Politics & government [JP], Sociology [JHB], Religion & politics [HRAM2], Religion & beliefs [HR]