Public Religion Research released jointly with Third Way today Beyond the God Gap: A New Roadmap for Reaching Religious Americans on Public Policy Issues.  In today’s Huffington Post, Third Way’s Jim Kessler and PRR’s Robert P. Jones outline why we created this resource to help journalists, policy makers, and the public retire old stereotypes about religious Americans and politics.

From the Huffington Post:

“Insofar as Evangelicals have demonized gays and lesbians [they] should repent before God.” Was it Jon Stewart who said that? Bill Maher? Barney Frank? No, it was said by an Evangelical pastor of a Southern megachurch — a conservative who calls Mike Huckabee a friend. We live in a new era, marked by an aging and declining Christian right that is increasingly eclipsed by the Tea Party, a nascent but growing chorus of diverse progressive religious voices, and a broadening of political agendas among many people of faith. Maybe it’s time to rethink our assumptions about religious Americans and public policy.

That conviction is the guiding principle of a new paper called Beyond the God Gap, which provides a road map for navigating the complex terrain of religion and public policy in America….

These old “god gap” assumptions [the authors] encountered in our pasts were not atypical. Public conversations about religion and politics continue to fall into well-worn ruts based on stereotypes: evangelical Christians march monolithically to a right-wing tune; mainline Protestants are no longer relevant; Catholics in the pews affirm all official church positions; and the non-religious are moral relativists. But as we have discovered through research and in our own lives, the truth is more nuanced and interesting. And understanding this truth is heartening and essential not only for anyone hoping to make progress on specific issues such as gay and lesbian rights, abortion, and immigration reform, but also for anyone working to foster a more civil dialogue throughout the country.

Today, four religious groupings make up about three-quarters of the U.S. population: white evangelical Protestants, white Mainline Protestants, African American Protestants, and Roman Catholics. In Beyond the God Gap, we took a fresh look not only at political attitudes on key issues, but also at the underlying cultural fabric and theological beliefs that help explain attitudes toward government, voting patterns, and shifts taking place within each of these religious families.

Read the rest of the article at the Huffington Post.

On June 15, Public Religion Research Institute CEO Robert P. Jones participated in a panel at the Brookings Institution on immigration reform and religious activism. The panel, which was hosted by E. J. Dionne and Bill Galston, included Jim Wallis, President of Sojourners, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Kevin Appleby with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Episcopal Bishop Katharine Jefferts Shori, Dr. David Leal of University of Texas and Mark Lopez, Associate Director of the Pew Hispanic Center.

Jones presented the findings from PRRI’s national survey on Religion, Values and Immigration Reform.

“Americans across religious groups support a comprehensive approach to immigration reform by a 2 to 1 margin. There is also near consensus on important values that should underlie immigration reform: the values of securing the border, but also values of keeping families together, the Golden Rule, and protecting the dignity of every human being.”

Jones also spoke about the lower public support found in the survey for the biblical value of “Welcoming the stranger”, which surprised many of the panelists.

“We included this measure because as we looked out at the landscape of what arguments people were using, this was one that we heard all the time. “Welcoming the stranger” comes right out of the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament. I think the challenge with it is, absent a biblical literacy that makes it ring in a certain way in one’s mind, we have the competing frame of things that we tell our children, right? “Don’t talk to… strangers”. And I think it’s this competing frame without high biblical literacy to trump it that makes it a problematic message for the general population.”

Jones also concluded the event by talking about the support for values in the PRRI survey in the context of the recent Arizona immigration law:

In a recent New York Times article, one of the people they interviewed called the Arizona law “a necessary evil….” But our polling shows that what Americans really want from immigration reform is not a choice that’s necessary and evil, but a choice that’s necessary and good and right, that leads to upholding the best of American values.

Audio of all speakers, presentation materials, and a full transcript for the event can be found here.

Position: Communications Associate
Type: Full-time
Organization: Public Religion Research Institute
Location: Washington, DC

Position Summary:

The Communications Associate will be responsible for generating coverage of PRRI research by mainstream and religious media. The Associate will be responsible for organizing press conferences announcing new research and for promoting PRRI research to the public.

Responsibilities:

• Plan press events, draft press releases, pitch stories to local, national and religious media
• Build relationships with reporters, columnists, producers, bookers and hosts in mainstream and religious media
• Manage PRRI’s online presence on its website and social media channels
• Manage PRRI communications with the public and donors through PRRI blog and monthly newsletter
• Assist with writing research reports, white papers, grant proposals, and other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• At least 3-5 years experience in media relations or communications
• Bachelor of Arts in communication, political science, religious studies, or related field
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, detail oriented
• Ideal candidate will be outgoing, assertive, well-organized, and a self-starter
• Familiarity with website design, qualitative research, polling, or statistical analysis (SPSS) a plus

About Public Religion Research Institute:

Public Religion Research Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization specializing in research at the intersection of religion, values, and public life. PRRI is an equal employment opportunity employer. Please visit our website for more information at http://www.publicreligion.org.

Instructions for Applying:

Application deadline is June 30, 2010. Please send cover letter, resume, 3 professional references to Communications Associate Position; Public Religion Research Institute; 1101 Vermont Ave NW FL 9; Washington, DC 20005; or as a single PDF document to info@publicreligion.org. Competitive salary and benefits. Salary Commensurate with experience. Women and minority candidates are encouraged to apply. No inquiries please.

Note: Full article appears in Newsweek/Washington Post On Faith.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer met with President Obama yesterday to discuss the controversial immigration law (SB 1070) she recently signed. The law would require state law enforcement officers to ask for proof of citizenship from anyone they suspect to be an illegal immigrant, and authorize them to arrest anyone without such proof.  President Obama has said he is troubled by the law, which he called a “misdirected effort,” because it could lead to racial profiling, with one group of Americans being treated differently than others simply because of the way they look.

One little known fact about Gov. Brewer is that as Secretary of State she launched a program in 2003 to establish Arizona as a Golden Rule state, recognizing “those who treat others the way they would like to be treated and who make a difference in Arizona.” At the opening ceremony of the initiative, Brewer handed out Golden Rule marbles, saying “Living the ‘Golden Rule’ really is contagious. The positive effect from just one person living the rule often influences many others to do the same.”

As part of the initiative, Arizona stamped out specialty “Live the Golden Rule” license plates, and Brewer continues to promote the Golden Rule program as governor. Just last month she was honored by the Arizona Interfaith Movement for promoting the Golden Rule in Arizona.  But now, since she signed SB 1070, Bishop Kirk Stevan Smith of the Episcopal Church in Arizona has suggested that Brewer give back the plaque.

Indeed, there is good reason to think that Gov. Brewer may have lost her Golden Rule marbles.

In March 2010, our organization, Public Religion Research Institute-a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization-conducted a nationwide poll on religion, values, and immigration reform. We found Americans strongly supported a comprehensive approach to immigration reform, and also strongly believe that immigration policy and reform should be guided by a set of moral values that include the Golden Rule.   A strong majority of Americans (71%) say following the Golden Rule-”providing immigrants the same opportunity that I would want if my family were immigrating to the U.S.”-is a very or extremely important moral guide for immigration reform.  A commitment to this value carries across partisan lines: nearly two-thirds (65%) of Republicans, 72% of Independents, and 75% of Democrats support the Golden Rule as a very important guide for immigration reform.

See Newsweek/Washington Post “On Faith” for the rest of the article.