The great white switch made white religiosity a reliable Republican vote predictor.

Evidence

More than any other factors, the demands for equality in the civil rights movement and reactions to demographic change have shaped the current contours of our two political parties. As the Democratic Party came to be identified as the party of civil rights, white Christians increasingly moved to the Republican Party—a migration that political scientists have dubbed “the great white switch.” Beginning with 1980 and in every national presidential election since, the voting patterns of religious Americans can be accurately described this way: majorities of white Christians—including not just evangelicals but also mainliners and Catholics—vote for Republican candidates, while majorities of all other religious groups vote for Democratic candidates. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 45

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: America’s real prize for immigrants was winning whiteness, not wealth. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 66; White evangelical Republican partisanship is recent, born of a mid-century realignment — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 79; “Evangelical” now functions chiefly as a Republican Party identity label — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian…, 280 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• White evangelical Republican partisanship is recent, born of a mid-century realignment #expands (0.85) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 79
• The Christian Right’s lasting achievement was locking evangelicals to the GOP #corroborates (0.80) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 244
• “Evangelical” now functions chiefly as a Republican Party identity label #expands (0.72) — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross, 280