Politics in the Parish: The Political Influence of Catholic Priests

Among personal morality priests, abortion (especially) and homosexuality are the hot-button issues, while social justice priests are more likely to focus on aid to the poor and to articulate a broader spectrum of CathoUc moral concerns. While Smith's research is a sophisticated treatment of an underresearched topic, any round-two probing wül necessitate looking more closely at clergy influence as a factor of age cohort and generational dynamics, especially in Ught of research showing that Catholics under thirty-five years of age are more progressive in their voting preferences than older Catholics.