Date of Award
8-1-1971
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Political Science & Public Administration
Abstract
The intent of this paper was to examine some of the attitudes and actions of the North Dakota clergymen toward politics and specific political issues. The specific political actions which were studied were voting behavior, participation in protest marches and demonstrations, and active campaigning for a political candidate or party. The attitudes which were studied were with regard to the rating of the Supreme Court of the United States, pari-mutual betting in North Dakota, following laws which one considered to be morally wrong, conscientious objection to specific wars, and the use of the pulpit for statements of personal political beliefs. These attitudes and actions were compared with similar attitudes and actions of the general public of North Dakota and the United States. Three factors—age, denominations, date of ordination—were examined in connection thereto. The study was done by mailing questionnaires to 500 North Dakota clergymen. The tabulated results indicated that the North Dakota clergy were very highly interested in politics but not extremely active. Age was the only factor that proved to be consistently important. The questionnaires further revealed that North Dakota clergymen were very independent and individualistic in their political attitudes.
Recommended Citation
Malm, Gary K., "A Study in Political Attitudes and Activism of North Dakota Clergymen" (1971). Theses and Dissertations. 3491.
https://commons.und.edu/theses/3491