Browsing by Author "Friesen, Amanda"
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Item American Constitutional Faith and the Politics of Hermeneutics(Cambridge University Press, 2019-07-16) Lewis, Andrew R.; Blake, William D.; Mockabee, Stephen T.; Friesen, AmandaAs more debates in American politics become constitutional questions, effective citizens must engage in constitutional interpretation. While most Americans venerate the Constitution as a part of a national, civil religion, levels of constitutional knowledge are also very low. In this paper, we analyze how ordinary Americans approach the task of constitutional interpretation. An analysis of two cross-sectional surveys indicates constitutional hermeneutics are a product of both political factors, denominational affiliation, and biblical interpretive preferences. We also present the results of a survey experiment where the manipulation of a clergy’s interpretation of a biblical passage affects how respondents interpret both scripture and the Constitution, providing a causal mechanism for learning how to engage in hermeneutics.Item The Politics of Denying Communion to Catholic Elected Officials(Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2014-02-08) Blake, William D.; Friesen, AmandaIn his 2004 presidential campaign, John Kerry, a Catholic, was threatened with being denied Holy Communion because of his pro-choice voting record. This article investigates the extent to which communion denial impacted Catholic elected officials and analyzes public attitudes regarding communion denial for Kerry. The results of our analysis suggest that, despite heavy media coverage, few bishops endorsed the communion denial and few pro-choice Catholic officials were threatened. While the data also indicate there are meaningful political implications for public attitudes on communion denial, the tactic does not command support from many Catholics.Item Social Capital, Institutional Rules, and Constitutional Amendment Rates(2021-09-20) Blake, William D.; Cozza, Joseph Francesco; Friesen, AmandaWhy are some constitutions amended more frequently than others? Despite the importance of this question to political science and legal theory, there is little consensus regarding the forces that shape constitutional amendments. Some scholars only focus on institutional factors, while others emphasize variations in culture. This paper makes a contribution to both literatures by examining how social capital reduces the transaction costs imposed by amendment rules. We conduct cross-sectional analyses of amendment rates for democratic constitutions globally and time-series analyses of efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution. The results indicate amendment frequency is a product of amendment rules, group membership, civic activism, and levels of social and political trust, but these effects vary across contexts based on the corresponding transaction costs. Our findings suggest social capital can have beneficial effects on social movements that demand constitutional amendments and the political elites and voters who supply them.