“Compelling, convincing, and controversial—but for the right reasons. Goren and Chapp demonstrate that attitudes on abortion and LGBTQ rights are stable, and that these beliefs can shape religious and political behavior such as party identification. Through the sheer amount of data collected and the warts-and-all transparency with which it is presented, the authors leave no stone unturned.”
— David Campbell | coauthor of "Secular Surge: A New Fault Line in American Politics"
"Chapp and Goren's outstanding analyses show that there are still some limitations on the power of partisan messages to change Americans’ underlying attitudes. Indeed, Moral Issues makes an important contribution to our understanding of US politics by convincingly demonstrating that opinions about abortion and gay rights have helped reshape voters' deeply held partisan attachments."
— Michael Tesler | University of California, Irvine
"Challenging the conventional wisdom that partisan attachment adopted early in life determines choice for most voters, the authors find that partisan attachment may be more fluid than earlier research suggests…this important work forces a deeper reckoning with the drivers of American electoral politics. The arguments in Moral Issues must be considered in any serious evaluation. Academics and political operatives will benefit from a careful reading of this important book."
— Choice
"The strength of Moral Issues lies in the authors’ linear and logical approach, painstakingly building their case. The book takes readers on a journey that challenges—or even overturns—what many social scientists believed about the relationship between issue positions, partisanship, and religion. Yet, because the authors present their case so clearly, readers are likely to find themselves nodding along, wondering how anyone could have thought otherwise."
— Perspectives on Politics
“At times, the thesis of moral emotion relating to abortion and gay rights can seem a too-easy catch-all to explain the rather complex reasons for people’s affiliation with churches and political parties, but Goren and Chapp offer a new and persuasive argument, backed up by data, that a person’s views on these moral issues are not some distraction from other important issues but are core beliefs that shape the most important public elements of our identities. In essence, they are arguing that partisan and religious leaders, political consultants and advisors, and the media should take abortion and gay rights as seriously as many citizens do.”
— The Interim
“Moral Issues offers a clear and carefully structured examination of how opinions on abortion and gay rights interact with religious and political identity. By arguing that deeply held moral stances on these issues drive political choices rather than simply reflecting religious or political affiliation, Goren and Chapp make a valuable contribution to the study of public opinion and religion in American politics.”
— Reading Religion
