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Robert P. Jones, University of Puget Sound
11.08.2012

Fresh after the excitement of the U.S. election on November 6, leading scholar and commentator Robert P. Jones will give a talk offering his views on the role that religion played in the political outcome.

The free, Thursday, Nov. 8 lecture may not produce the answers that everyone expects—for the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) that Jones founded and directs has been busy exploding common myths about public voting patterns.

For example, the PRRI examined issues such as: Are abortion and gay marriage really pivotal issues for Catholic voters? Are the values of the Tea Party and religious right truly the domain of white, working-class Americans?  Are ignorance of President Obama’s Christian religion and wariness of Gov. Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith influencing voting patterns?

Jones, who is regularly featured on CNN and NPR, and in The New York Times and The Washington Post, will address these issues and more in a free lecture titled “Beyond Value Voters: The Shifting Role of Religion in American Politics.” The talk will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8, in Schneebeck Concert Hall. Entrance is complimentary, but tickets are required. See below for more information.

In addition to analyzing the election, Jones will discuss the results of new PRRI survey reports that will be released that week. He will look at how religion traditionally divided and swayed voters, and how this has changed in recent decades, influenced by factors such as immigration, economic shifts, lifestyle changes, new generational thinking, and mass media.

The public will be invited to ask questions, and all attendees are welcome to a reception following the lecture in Rasmussen Rotunda in the Wheelock Student Center. The talk is presented by the Swope Endowed Lectureship on Ethics, Religion, Faith, and Values.