The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats Are Closing the God Gap

by Amy Sullivan

As late as the 1960s, religion was a decidedly nonpartisan affair in the United States. In the past forty years, however, despite abundant evidence that Americans care about their candidates' personal faith, Democrats have beat a retreat in the competition for religious voters and the discussion of morality, effectively ceding religion to the Republicans. Elections show that voters have gotten the Democrats are on the wrong side of the God gap.

With unprecedented access to politicians, campaign advisers, and religious leaders, Amy Sullivan skillfully traces the Democratic Party's fall from grace among religious voters, showing how the party lost its primacy -- and maybe its soul -- in the process. It's a story that begins with the party's ineffectual response to the rise of the religious right and culminates with John Kerry's defeat in the 2004 presidential election. Sullivan documents key turning points along the way, such as the party's alienation of Catholics on the abortion issue and its failure to emulate Bill Clinton's success at reaching religious voters. She demonstrates that there was nothing inevitable about the defection of values voters to the GOP and the emergence of the God it was not just a Republican achievement but the Democrats' failure to embrace their own faith and engage religious Americans on social issues.

Sullivan's story has a hopeful ending. She takes readers behind the scenes of the Democrats' recent religious turnaround. She offers insight into the ways Democrats have reoriented their campaigns to appeal to religious voters -- including their successes at framing the abortion issue in less-divisive terms and at finding common ground with evangelical leaders and communities.

Timely, informative, and immensely thought-provoking, The Party Faithful is a tough and revealing analysis of the Democratic Party's relationship to religion and an essential primer for evaluating the outcome of the 2008 presidential election.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Religion, History

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderfully evenhanded and clearheaded. If you're looking for a screeching tirade against Republican hypocrisy, this isn't it. This is a humanizing book, one that handles touchy issues of faith and its political expression with respectful deftness. Sullivan, a self-described liberal, doesn't back down an inch from her progressive values, but she refuses to pick a fight. This is a survey, not a polemic, and I appreciated that.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I’d read it earlier...like during the Obama administration.

[Charles Redfern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sullivan wrote this book in 2008 -- before Obama's nomination -- but it is still relevant. The Democratic Party remains tone-deaf to the felt needs of evangelical Protestants and traditional Catholics, and I say that as an evangelical who is a pro-life Democrat involved in local politics. Thus, the party cuts itself off from a potential constituency. Polls show that evangelicals and Catholics sympathize with Democrats issue-by-issue but disagree in two key areas: abortion and family values. Sullivan shows that the Democrats snubbed those two groups in the election of 2004 and labeled them as "extremists." They paid a heavy price. The party recouped some of its political acumen in the election of 2008 but, in my opinion, lost it again by 2012. An organization called Democrats For Life proposed platform language that would have left the pro-choice stance undisturbed but recognize diversity within the party (about a third of all Democrats are pro-life); the proposal was dismissed. The DNC's proposed elimination of all God-talk in the party platform had merit (as a man of faith, I find few similarities between civil religion's god and monotheism's Almighty Being)but was politically unwise -- as was the booing at the 2012 convention. To be fair, a youtube video shows that the delegates were not booing God; they were [rightly] displeased with a procedural ruling -- but such subtleties are lost in Fox News coverage).

Good politicians make an effort to understand how their people think: their instincts take them beyond opinion polls, the answers to which are often framed by the questions. The fact is that the United States remains the most religious of all industrialized nations: Even the vast majority of the so-called "nones" believe in God. Some of them even go to church. As Sullivan shows, Bill Clinton knew that and made inroads into the religious vote. Every Democrat should read Sullivan's book and glean its lessons.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good analysis of a particular aspect of American politics. It is so well done that it should be on the reading list of people who are broadly interested in American politics. Well-written and insightful, I particularly liked the portrait of how Kerry's campaign simply botched religion. They blew that before they blew Swiftboat, and for much the same reasons, as is pointed out well in the book. I went into the book somewhat skeptical and came away a believer in the core thesis--that the Dems are foolishly giving away votes of evangelicals and Catholics. The portrait of Clinton is another triumph. I've read lots of books about Bill, and this one captures his religious faith better than any previous one--the man who could recite Bible verses from memory (and give the varying wordings in different bible translations) was not the hypocrite of the right's fantasy, or the panderer of the left's portrayal. He was a sincere, and flawed, Christian. Sullivan captures the damage his fling with Monica did to the Dems, and their failure to pick up his lead on religious outreach. He was damn good at it.
There is also some good history in the early chapters, which even fairly close readers of history will benefit from, and which is not at all boring. I have one quibble--the portrayal of Falwell has his political entrance being his revolt against the left leaning Dems on social issues like abortion. He was earlier active as a segregationist, and continued to fight for the right of all white Christian schools to get tax exemptions even as they left out blacks. That was how that odious and reprehensible bigot and bully got into politics.

Still, overall, a book that should be on the shelves of people who care about religion or politics or most especially both.

[Louise Chambers · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is not the author's fault that the only national debate seems to be over abortion. Well written despite that limiting factor.

I read the book because I heard Ms. Sullivan speak on NPR.org after Ryan, Akins, and the others had said their reprehensible statements about rape during the 2012 election campaign. She is such a lucid, cogent speaker, and can speak personally to the religious parts of the debate that I decided to read the book.

I was surprised that it was copyrighted in 2008 and I hadn't heard of it, despite it being a featured title at my llbrary. The copy I got is in excellent condition, leading me to wonder: 1) Did others just tire of the abortion theme? or, 2) Was it not very well publicized in 2008?

Perhaps now that she appeared on NPR.org and has written the new essay in The New Republic her book will get the attention it well deserves.

Kudos for the writing, for knowledge of the subject. Points subtracted for hewing to the narrow theme of abortion rather than trying to broaden the debate.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book caught my attention because I have long been trying to reconcile both my Christian spiritual beliefs and my moderate Democratic political convictions. Many, including the author's pastor, would have you believe that it is impossible to be both a Christian and a Democrat. That's another reason why I wanted to read this book.

This book did a great job at tracing the shift of Evangelicals from the days of President Carter to the present, just before the 2008 general election. It also details the spirituality of President Clinton, most of which I had never heard before. It shedded some light on the Bush vs. Kerry election of 2004, which Kerry basically lost because he did as little as possible to reach out to Evangelicals, while Bush put himself out there a great deal.

An easy read full of lots of factoids, historical information, and names you will want to remember, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in religion and politics. I never knew I was, haha.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are other books that go into detail about the religious right's superglue-ing onto the Republican Party over the past generation; the author gives a history of that, but moves beyond it to go into how Democrats' bungling the issue aided that phenomenon, as well as prolonging it. Many Democrats are convinced that Bush won Ohio in 2004 purely over ballot-box fraud; however, Sullivan gives examples of how Ohio Democrats blew opportunities to connect with Bush-doubting voters ("We don't do white churches"). My main criticism would be that while there are examples of evangelicals openly supporting Democrats (since 2004), I'd like to have seen quotes on how they reconcile socially liberal positions of candidates, beyond an implication of "not throwing out the baby with the bathwater".

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sullivan offers a very readable history of the Democratic Party's outreach to people of faith, particularly Catholics and Evangelicals. She reveals how and why they failed to connect with the faithful in 2000 and 2004, and previews their success in this year's election. It's an insightful and timely read, with a personal touch, as the author comes to terms with her own faith and accepts its role in animating political action. This comes as the party finally wakes up to see the significance of personal faith, and as the church comes to embrace a more inclusive values agenda ("Common Good" values). It's about time!

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm glad to have a way of recommending this one. Finally, someone tackles the "religion gap" and finds a place for those of us who don't march to the conservative drummer, but are practicing Christians. Great coverage here of the 1973-74 reaction from each party to Roe v. Wade (really interesting to those of us who don't remember it), and some hope for the future. If you're politically and religiously active, read this one by November!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the earlier chapters tended to get bogged down in details and in a chronological retelling of events, the chapter on abortion and religion was fascinating. The analysis of the Kerry campaign's tone deaf ear to religion and religious groups was also interesting. Sullivan, herself a liberal evangelical, sees a hopeful future for a more inclusive and welcome environment within the Democratic party for people of faith.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book about the ways Democrats can make common cause with Christians in this country. As both a Democrat and a Christian I definitely enjoyed the book's exploration of the tumultuous history of religion and politics; I would have appreciated a little more exploration of the ways in which politicians can talk about religion while also respecting people who are non-Christian or non-religious.

[Matthew Hoyt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating review of Dems and religious issue. Most interesting is how John Kerry's 2004 campaign really blew opportunities to connect with religious voters. Though a long-time member of the other party, I recommend this book as an insight into how 200 years after Tocqueville's travels, we in the U.S. are still connecting religion and liberty in ways inexplicable to most of the developed world.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important book - one concern is that the author operates from the stance that there is a widespread and profound feeling of moral dilemma around abortion, whereas there is also a more matter of fact pragmatic attitude that exists in the culture (and definitely if you ask any Europeans).

[Barron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely excellent and a good, quick read.