Paul Ryan and the missing evangelicals

Matt K. Lewis Senior Contributor
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A couple of weeks ago, I observed that Mitt Romney’s selection of a Catholic running mate could be significant and historic.

Over at RealClearPolitics, Carl Cannon picked up on this theme, writing that,

[W]hile hardly anyone seemed to notice, things changed a bit more when Romney reached out and tapped Paul Ryan. Sometimes historic change is dramatic, as it was in 2008. Sometimes it’s more subtle — as it was when Ryan, a Roman Catholic, said yes to Mitt Romney, an active member in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

(Emphasis mine.)

Cannon is correct to note this is a subtle change. But while few are paying attention, it’s entirely possible we are witnessing a shift in American politics.

This raises a few questions. Has partisan ideology completely replaced religious affiliation in terms of how we identify ourselves? Are Protestants losing power in American politics?

Author and Baylor University associate professor Thomas S. Kidd (whom I quoted in my original post) notices a recent trend:

[T]he curious Protestant absence should also give evangelicals pause. For all the talk about the evangelical factor in American politics, evangelicals since 2004 (George W. Bush’s second presidential victory) have struggled to field and elect conservative Protestants on the national stage. In the past two Republican primaries, they failed to secure the nomination for a preferred candidate (such as Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, or Rick Perry).

Matt K. Lewis