campaign-issue

In U.S. politics, religious and unaffiliated or nonreligious voters often appear to fall somewhat predictably on opposite sides of many controversial policy and “moral” issues. The issue of immigration reform and the degree to which religion plays a determinative role, however, has yet to be comprehensively studied, despite the fact that many religious leaders have voiced strong positions.

From the Scholars Strategy Network, written by Kelly Dittmar, assistant professor, Rutgers University-Camden.

Social issues — and the associated “culture war” in America — continue to play prominent roles in politics. There is an ingrained notion of a static political standoff: To many, the country seems split into two camps that have stubbornly dug in on issues. But survey data suggests that public support for some social issues has fluctuated significantly over recent history.

Though migration from Mexico to the United States has slowed considerably in recent years, one persistent point of controversy embedded in the immigration reform debate relates to the use of Spanish in communities across America — and some new arrivals’ alleged unwillingness to learn and use English.

How the United States government measures levels of poverty has changed little since the bureaucracy began making official estimates in the 1960s. Many observers have noted that the official statistical model has not kept up with the times: for example, it does not take fully into account rising medical costs, and it uses a multiplier of food costs as an index by which to set the official poverty income line for households. (Food costs have shrunk historically as part of the family budget.)