Literature on religious involvement in public affairs typically examines thenational scene, particularly public opinion and political behavior in presidential elections.Few scholars examine religious actors in urban politics and policymaking. Those who dostudy local politics emphasize morality policy and ignore issues of metropolitangovernance and institutional design, central concerns of the urban politics field. Thisdissertation fills that gap by studying Louisville, Kentucky, site of the first large-scalecity-county consolidation since 1969. I ask: does religion affect how people vote in aconsolidation referendum and shape their opinions about merged government?I employ a survey instrument (N=807), collected randomly across LouisvilleMetro in 2006, and use multiple linear and binary logistic regression to predict religiosity,“culture war” stances, and consolidation referendum participation and support. I controlfor socio-economic status, demographics, residence, and political ideology. Ioperationalize religion as a variable in two ways: as a factor score index measuring levelof religiosity, combining behavior, belief, and salience items; and as religious affiliation,predominately Roman Catholic and Southern Baptist in Louisville. I also employ the 2006 General Social Survey for comparison with the nation and several additionalreligion databases to better understand Louisville’s religious ecology.I find that religiosity did not significantly affect one’s turnout or vote but ispositively related to opinions of the merged government. Religious affiliation did notsignificantly affect turnout but significantly affected one’s vote and opinions. Regressionresults show that Catholics were 37 percent more likely to support consolidation thanSouthern Baptists. I downplay theories that differences over redistribution to centralcities and political trust may be driving differences over consolidation.I posit a theory labeled “polity replication” based in the institutional andorganizational theory and sociology of religion literatures. I argue that participation in areligious denomination’s organizational structure conditions members to prefer similarstructures in other societal institutions. Two forms of metropolitan governance,monocentrism and polycentrism, parallel the poles of church polity (i.e., denominationalgovernance): episcopal/centralized (Catholic) and congregational/decentralized (Baptist).In conclusion, I present recommendations and implications for research, religiouspractice, and politics/policymaking.
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Religion and regionalism : congregants, culture and city-county consolidation in Louisville, Kentucky.
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