MAY 23, 2005

POLITICS
Can the Democrats find religion?

IN THE NORTHEAST
• Paul Osterman is a professor of management and human resources at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of Gathering Power: The Future of Progressive Politics In America (Beacon Press, 2003). Contact 617-253-2667, osterman@mit.edu.
• James Ishmael Ford is pastor of the First Unitarian Society of West Newton, Mass. After Kerry's 2004 loss, Ford delivered a sermon that, in part, pondered how the Democrats failed to attract more voters over "moral values." Contact 617-527-3203.
• Samuel J. Abrams is a research fellow at the Center for Basic Research in the Social Sciences at Harvard University and co-author with Morris P. Fiorina and Jeremy C. Pope of Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America (Pearson Longman, 2004). Abrams argues that voters have not grown more conservative, but that religious organizations have become better at organization and capturing attention and influence. The Republicans have tapped into this growth, while the Democrats, lacking a clear plan, have not. Contact via email only, sabrams@fas.harvard.edu.
• Elaine Kamarck is a lecturer in public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. She was a senior policy adviser to the 2000 Gore campaign for president. Contact 617-495-9002, elaine_kamarck@harvard.edu.
• Dale Kuehne is an associate professor in the department of politics at St. Anselm College, a Benedictine school in Manchester, N.H., and senior adviser to the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. He also is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church of America. Contact 603-222-4102, dkuehne@anselm.edu.

IN THE EAST
• Shaun Casey is a professor of Christian ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary, a United Methodist school in Washington, D.C. He says that to successfully reach religious voters, Democrats must find a "theological idiom" that reflects the lived religion of the candidate and appeals to particular faith communities. Contact scasey@wesleysem.edu.
• Gerald Zelizer is a Conservative rabbi and pastor of Neve Shalom in Metuchen, N.J. In July 2004, he wrote an editorial in USA Today calling on the Democrats to reach out to the "swing faithful." Contact 732-548-2238.
• The Rev. James Forbes Jr. is senior minister at Riverside Church in New York, N.Y. He spoke about the "moral urgency" of electing Kerry in 2004. Contact 212-870-6774.
• Louis Bolce and Gerald De Maio are professor and associate professor, respectively, of political science at Baruch College, City University of New York in New York City. The fall 2002 issue of The Public Interest published their article outlining the history of religion and the Democratic Party. They found that the Democratic Party has become a home for nonreligious people - approximately 15 percent of the party base. Contact Bolce at 646-312-4116, louis_bolce@baruch.cuny.edu; contact De Maio at 646-312-4414, gerald_demaio@baruch.cuny.edu.
• Jennifer Marshall is director of domestic policy at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., and former director of family studies at the family Research Council. She has written widely about Republican support of moral issues such as abstinence education, defense of marriage and welfare. Contact via Khris Bershers, director of media services, 202-608-6148, khrisbershers@heritage.org.

IN THE SOUTHEAST
• James Smith Sr. is executive editor of Florida Baptist Witness, a weekly newspaper based in Jacksonville, Fla., and has criticized the Democrats' effort to reach out to religious voters during the 2004 election. Contact 904-596-3165.
• Imam Johari Abul-Malik is outreach director for Dar Al-Hijrah in Falls Church, Va., one of the largest Islamic centers in the country. He is a chaplain at Howard University and is also president of the coordinating council of Muslim organizations representing 46 Islamic centers, schools and organizations from Baltimore to Richmond, Va. He is active with the Muslim American Society, based in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-345-5233, imamjohari@yahoo.com.
• Laura Olson is an associate professor of political science at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C., and co-editor of several books on religion and American politics. She says that there are many Democrats who are also religious but that the party is not well-organized in terms of religious outreach. Contact 864-656-1457, lolson8274@aol.com.
• David Dalin is a Conservative rabbi and a professor of history and political science at Ave Maria University in Naples, Fla. He has written about Jews and American political history and is at work on a book about the influence of Jews on the presidency. Contact 239-280-1694, david.dalin@avemaria.edu.
• So Young Kim is an assistant professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University. She has studied Asian-American politics and religion. Contact 561-297-3775, soyoung.kim@fau.edu.

IN THE SOUTH
• Marc Hetherington is an associate professor of political science at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. He lectures on political parties. Contact 615-322-6240, marc.j.hetherington@vanderbilt.edu.
• Mark Pryor is a Democratic U.S. senator from Arkansas. He partially credits his election to the advice of a political consultant who told him to never give a speech without quoting the Bible. He has said Democrats have trouble with people of faith. Contact 202-224-2353.
• Steven Brown is a professor of political science at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., where he specializes in religion and politics. Contact 334-844-5370, brown32@mail.auburn.edu.
• David P. Gushee is a senior fellow at the Center for Christian Leadership at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. He is the editor of Christians and Politics Beyond the Culture Wars (Baker Book House, 2000). Contact 731-661-5024, dgushee@uu.edu.

IN THE MIDWEST
• Catherine Wilson is a visiting professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., where she leads a research seminar on campaigns and elections in the United States. Contact 847-467-0276, catherine@northwestern.edu.
• Carol Moseley Braun, a Democrat, is a former U.S. senator from Illinois who ran for president in 2004. She recently gave a speech at Claremont McKenna College on religion in the 2004 election. Contact through Kevin Lape, 312-464-0260.
• Ben Nelson is a Democratic U.S. senator from Nebraska and serves on the federal advisory board of Democrats for Life of America, a group that opposes abortion. Contact 202-224-6551.
• Alan Mollohan is a Democratic U.S. representative from West Virginia and serves on the federal advisory board of Democrats for Life of America. Contact 202-225-4172.
• Muqtedar Khan is an assistant professor of political science and director of international studies at Adrian College in Adrian, Mich. In GlocalEye, his column on global affairs, he has written of the rise of political Christianity, through the Republican Party, in the United States. Contact 517-265-5161 ext. 3949, mkhan@adrian.edu.
• Abed Hammoud formed the Arab American Political Action Committee in 1998 in Dearborn, Mich., to consolidate and increase Arab-American voting power. Contact 313-303-0427, AHammoud@wowway.com.

IN THE SOUTHWEST
• Christine Sierra is an associate professor of political science at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where she teaches a course on Hispanics and American politics. In part, the course looks at Democratic and Republican outreach to Hispanics in the 2002 election. Contact 505-277-1098, csierra@unm.edu.
• Michael Mansfield is a professor of political science at Baylor University, a Southern Baptist school in Waco, Texas. He is an expert on American politics and a scholar in the university's Dawson Institute on Church-State Studies. Contact 254-710-3161, michael_mansfield@baylor.edu.
• Allen Hertzke is a professor of political science and chairman of the religious studies program at Oklahoma University in Norman. He is co-author of Religion and Politics in America: Faith, Culture and Strategic Choices (Westview Press, 1998). He is an expert on church-based populist movements. Contact 405-325-6421, ahertzke@ou.edu.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST
• Marc Dollinger is a professor of Jewish studies and social responsibility at San Francisco State University. He contributed an article on Jews and the Democratic Party to the Encyclopedia of American Religion and Politics (Facts on File, 2003). Contact 415-338-3160, mdolling@sfsu.edu.
• Nelson Polsby is a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of several books on topics in American politics, including an examination of presidential campaigns and party reform. Contact 510-642-1474, nwpolsby@socrates.berkeley.edu.
• Chuck Currie is a United Church of Christ seminarian and advocate for the homeless in Portland, Ore. He is also an active blogger and frequently writes on religion and politics. Contact via his blogsite.
• Katherine Stenger is a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her focus is on the effect of religious interest groups on American politics. Contact kstenger@uwashington.edu.