By Allyson Shortle, University of Oklahoma:
“As this year’s Politics & Religion (P&R) section head for the Midwest Political Science Association meeting, I was able to take a closer look at the work that pushes our field forward at the intersection of politics and religion, informing our understanding of institutions, behavior, and theory. After reading through an extensive amount of research proposals I received in October, I put together a set of panels that will interest anybody who is puzzled by religion’s influence on national and international political landscapes. These panels will also interest those who might alternatively be puzzled by politics’ potential influence on religion.
There are several panels this year that highlight emerging trends of P&R research. The first noteworthy addition is a fascinating set of studies that use experimental and psychological approaches to examine religion’s impact on political attitudes. This panel highlights a push some scholars of P&R have made over the last decade to incorporate more diverse methodological techniques into our analyses covering a dynamic range of topics, from …” See more here.