Christian soldiers on local battlefields: Campaigning for control of America's school boards

This dissertation explores the impact of the Christian Right on school board elections by conducting a national survey and two case studies. This study considers how elements from the four major political participation models---the socioeconomic status (SES) model, the rational choice model, the contextual model, and the mobilization model---help to explain why, when, and how conservative Christians run for school board. The major political participation models used by political scientists tend to overlook the contributions that religion makes toward explaining the political behavior of certain individuals. By considering how certain religious variables often neglected by political scientists relate to each of the models, this study sheds new light on how religion inspires citizens to participate in politics and when and how they do it. The study finds that in at least two of the political participation models, religion enhances their explanatory power when it comes to the case of Christian Right school board candidates. The study finds that Christian Right candidates are significantly more likely than non-Christian Right candidates to link their religious convictions to their decision to become school board candidates. In this sense, conservative Christians are more likely to derive religious "purposive benefits" from their participation, as the rational choice model would argue. Religion also relates to the contextual model of political participation if one is willing to consider the church as a social "context." This study finds that the church plays a more important role in the lives of Christian Right candidates than non-Christian Right candidates. From a contextual model perspective, the church life of Christian Right candidates facilitates an environment that both raises awareness about local issues and offers support for those members who wish to address these issues in the political arena. Religion adds little to the two remaining models of political participation. Particularly disappointing is the performance of the mobilization model. This study finds that Christian Right organizations play little role in motivating or assisting conservative Christians in their bids for school board office.