ELECTIONS 2006
Will Catholics swing back to the Democrats?

IN THE NORTHEAST
• The Rev. David Hollenbach, SJ, is a professor of theology at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass. He specializes in Christian ethics and can speak about how Catholics translate their beliefs into political action. Contact 617-552-8855, hollenb@bc.edu.
• Sister Mary Johnson is an associate professor of sociology and religious studies at Emmanuel College in Boston. She follows trends related to Catholic life and co-authored the book Young Adult Catholics: Religion in the Culture of Choice (University of Notre Dame Press, 2001). The book is a national study of the religious and spiritual beliefs and practices of Catholics ages 20 to 39. Contact 617-735-9830, johnsmb@emmanuel.edu.

IN THE EAST
Sister Mary E. Bendyna is executive director and senior research associate for the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She is an expert on the Catholic Church and religion and politics. Contact 202-687-8080, bendynam@georgetown.edu.
• The Rev. Thomas O'Hara is a political science professor and president at King's College, a Catholic school in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. He can comment on issues of Catholics and politics, especially in old-line Catholic communities in keystone states such as Pennsylvania. Contact 570-208-5899, tjohara@kings.edu.
• Elizabeth McKeown is a professor of theology at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. McKeown focuses on American studies. She is co-editor of Public Voices: Catholics in the American Context (Orbis Books, 1999). Contact 202-687-4516, mck34@georgetown.edu.

IN THE SOUTHEAST
• David Yamane is an assistant professor of sociology at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., and an expert on Catholics in the postwar years. He wrote The Catholic Church in State Politics: Negotiating Prophetic Demands and Political Realities (Rowman and Littlefield, 2005), a study of the role of Conferences of Catholic Bishops in state legislative politics. Contact 336-758-3260, yamaned@wfu.edu.
• Michael J. Perry is the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law at Emory University in Atlanta and specializes in the role of religion in politics. Contact 404-712-2086, mperry@law.emory.edu.
• James Guth is a political science professor at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. He has written widely on the emergence of Christian conservatives and can discuss the relationship between Catholics and evangelicals in key Southern states. Contact 864-294-2210, jim.guth@furman.edu.

IN THE SOUTH
• John M. Bruce is an associate professor of political science at the University of Mississippi. He specializes in politics and religion. Contact 662-915-7218, jbruce@olemiss.edu.
• Paul J. Weber is a political science professor at the University of Louisville, Ky., and is an expert on religion and politics. He argues that Catholics are swing voters who can determine the winner of the election. Contact 502-852-3305, paulweber@louisville.edu.
• Penny Long Marler is an associate professor of religion at Samford University, Birmingham, Ala. She has tracked contemporary trends in religious behavior and has written about the attitudes of young adult Catholics. Contact 205-726-2869, plmarler@samford.edu.

IN THE MIDWEST
• James D. Davidson is a sociology professor at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. Davidson can comment on the trends shaping political attitudes and beliefs of American Catholics. Contact 765-494-4688, davidsonj@soc.purdue.edu.
• The Rev. John Putka is a Marianist priest and lecturer in political science at the University of Dayton in Ohio. Putka specializes in analyzing Catholic voting patterns and believes abortion is a key issue influencing the Catholic vote. Contact 937-229-3626, John.Putka@notes.udayton.edu.
• The Rev. Charles E. Bouchard, O.P., is a moral theologian and president of the Aquinas Institute of Theology, a Dominican graduate school in St. Louis. In an article in the Feb. 12, 2001, edition of the Jesuit weekly America, he called for Catholics to "abandon the all-or-nothing strategy" in the abortion debate in order to reduce abortions. Contact 314-977-3882, bouchard@ai.edu.
• David Campbell is a political science professor at the University of Notre Dame who has written widely on religion and politics and what motivates voters to go to the polls. Contact 574-631-7809, Dave_Campbell@nd.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST
• Gerard Wegemer is a professor of literature at the University of Dallas and founding director of the Center for Thomas More Studies at the Catholic college. He is the author of several books on Thomas More, the 16th-century English statesman who was executed by Henry VIII for refusing to assent to his break with the papacy over Henry's divorce. More has been cited by many as a role model for Catholics in public life. Wegemer's books include Thomas More on Statesmanship (Catholic University of America Press, 1996) and Thomas More: A Portrait of Courage (Scepter Publishers, 1995). He has highlighted the lessons he believes contemporary Catholic public figures should draw from More. Contact 972-721-5327, wegemer@udallas.edu.
• Mark Chaves is head of the sociology department at the University of Arizona and an expert on religion in American politics. He was also the principal investigator for the 1998 National Congregations Study of 1,236 congregations. Contact 520-626-2560, mchaves@u.arizona.edu.
• The Rev. Andrew Greeley is an adjunct professor of sociology at the University of Arizona and the University of Chicago. A Roman Catholic priest, his studies focus on a range of issues facing the Catholic Church. He can talk about whether Catholics are shifting from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. Contact 520-621-3531 or 773-256-6280, agreel@aol.com.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST
• Gaston Espinosa is an assistant professor of philosophy and religious studies at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif. He has written and lectured widely on Latinos and politics, and how their religious faith - Catholic or Protestant - affects their political choices. Espinosa is on sabbatical but can be reached through the philosophy and religious studies department at 909-607-8019 or at gaston.espinosa@claremontmckenna.edu.
• The Rev. Thomas P. Rausch, S.J., is a professor of theology at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. He can comment on various aspects of Catholic political life, including efforts to forge bonds with Christian conservatives. He is the editor of Catholics and Evangelicals: Do They Share a Common Future? (InterVarsity Press/Paulist Press, 2000). Contact 310-338-7670, trausch@lmu.edu.
• Ted G. Jelen is a political science professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He studies the role of the Catholic Church in American politics. Contact 702-895-3355, jelent.@nevada.edu.
• Gerard Heather is a political science professor at San Francisco State University and an expert on religion and politics. Contact 415-338-1019, gh@sfsu.edu.