ABSTRACT
Political scientists argue about the shaping effect of religion on politics: does its influence come by way of theological positions, beliefs about social behavior, or organizational activities? Yet the argument is often vitiated by jumping between aspects of both religion and politics or, even worse, by just focusing on the latest incarnation of religious influence, whatever and wherever it is. In this regard, does anyone even remember that, within the adult life of Sid Verba, American politics has eradicated a major Protestant-Catholic division and seen the effective demise of Mainstream Protestantism? How did this happen?
