For fifty years, American opinion on abortion barely moved.  Then the Dobbs decision happened. 

Posted on May 6, 2026 by gkramer

This week in North Philly Notes, Laurel Elder, Steven Greene, and Mary-Kate Lizotte, coauthors of Not Going Back: Public Opinion on Abortion in Post-Dobbs America, explain how and why public opinion has shifted since the Dobbs decision. 

June 2026 marks four years since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion access. This anniversary provides an important opportunity to assess how public opinion has evolved in the wake of this seismic shift.

We have spent our careers researching gender and public opinion, from the gender gap, to the politics of parenthood, to views on candidate spouses. It was a natural extension of our work to examine abortion, one of the most visible and consequential gender-related issues in American politics.

Our research on abortion attitudes began well before Dobbs. What initially drew our attention was the remarkable stability of public opinion on the issue. While political debates often framed the issue as a stark divide between “pro-life” and “pro-choice,” most Americans held more nuanced, situational views, supporting legal access to abortion in some circumstances but not others. Despite high-profile political battles and public debate, aggregate public opinion on abortion remained strikingly stable for nearly half a century.

Dobbs disrupted that equilibrium. In Not Going Back we examine how and why public opinion has shifted and how American politics has been changed as a result.

As policy moved sharply to the right in the wake of Dobbs, with more than a dozen states enacting near-total abortion bans and others enacting strict limitations, public opinion moved in the opposite direction. More Americans now identify as pro-choice and support legal access to abortion under all circumstances. The result is a growing disconnect between law and public sentiment, one that is reshaping the political landscape.

One of our most notable findings is the emergence of a gender gap in abortion attitudes. Contrary to common assumptions, men and women held very similar views on abortion for decades. After Dobbs, however, women have become significantly more supportive of abortion rights than men.

This shift is driven in part by personal experience and exposure. Individuals who know someone who has struggled to access abortion care, who worry about losing access themselves, or who have a deeper understanding of reproductive health are more likely to support abortion rights. In the post-Dobbs environment, exposure to these realities has increased, especially among women.

We also find a notable reversal in issue prioritization. For decades, Republicans and those identifying as pro-life were more likely to rank abortion as a top political issue. After Dobbs, that dynamic flipped. The energy and urgency now lie with those who support expanded access to abortion.

This shift reflects, in part, divisions within the Republican coalition. While Democratic voters are largely aligned with their party’s pro-choice stance, Republicans are more internally divided. Roughly one-third of Republicans identify as pro-choice, creating a sizable group of cross-pressured voters. Our research shows that such cross-pressures are associated with lower voter turnout in the post-Dobbs era, posing an ongoing challenge for the GOP.

Our findings also highlight a key political reality: there is no widely accepted “moderate” abortion ban. In survey experiments, Americans did not view a 12-week ban as meaningfully more acceptable than a 6-week ban. In the post-Dobbs context, a ban is a ban, and bans are broadly unpopular. This creates a difficult strategic landscape for Republican candidates seeking to find more moderate positions on abortion.

The phrase that became our title—Not Going Back—emerged from the data. The forces reshaping public opinion, from policy change to increased personal exposure, are not temporary. As a result, public opinion is unlikely to return to its pre-Dobbs equilibrium. This new landscape will shape how candidates campaign, who wins elections, and how they govern. In short, Dobbs did not simply change policy; it set in motion a lasting transformation in American public opinion and politics.

We invite you to explore these findings in our new book.

Filed under: american studies, civil rights, Education, ethics, gender studies, health, History, law & criminology, Mass Media and Communications, political science, sexuality, sociology, women's studies | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Expanding solidarity across boundaries of identity

Posted on November 13, 2024 by gkramer

This week in North Philly Notes, Felipe Amin Filomeno, author of Christian Cosmopolitanism, writes about deliberative dialogues on immigration in congregations.

Growing up in Brazil, Sunday lunches at my grandparents’ were a cherished ritual around a big family table. We were a typical Brazilian family with Italian roots: my grandfather at one end of the table with his wine, adults filling in the middle, and us grandchildren clustered at the far end (not drinking wine, of course). Over bowls of minestrone and the sound of overlapping voices, conversations flowed until someone brought up the age-old taboos – politics or religion. That was when one of my grandaunts would inevitably remind us that neither topic belonged at the table. Ironically, I must have missed the memo, because years later, I wrote a book exploring one of today’s most divisive political questions – immigration – and the role that Christianity might play in fostering a deeper, more empathetic conversation around it.

My work on Christian Cosmopolitanism: Faith Communities Talk Immigration started in 2017, when I attended a meeting of the Latino Racial Justice Circle (LRJC), a faith-based nonprofit group supporting Baltimore’s Latino immigrant community. Drawn initially by a desire to serve, I also saw this as an opportunity to align service with research. In that gathering and the ones that followed, we prayed for God’s protection of immigrants, LGBTQ people, and multicultural families. I was moved, thinking, “This is Christian cosmopolitanism!” A term that may seem unfamiliar to many, Christian cosmopolitanism stands in stark contrast to Christian nationalism, the idea that the U.S. is a Christian nation and that a certain variety of Christianity must inform our laws, making us the “city on a hill.”

LRJC leaders were hopeful that faith-based conversations could shift hearts and minds about immigration. Their hope was grounded in traditional Christian teachings. From the Old Testament, we learn that “[t]he alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:34). In the New Testament, Jesus says, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35). What for LRJC leaders was hope for me became a research question: Could prayerful conversation within Christian congregations nurture understanding and collaboration across divides of nationality, race, and ethnicity? From 2018 to 2022, I designed, implemented, recorded, and analyzed a pilot dialogue and seven three-week dialogues on immigration in Christian congregations in Baltimore. The seven dialogues included fourteen congregations and 97 participants. Each involved diverse groups coming together to talk through one of the nation’s most divisive topics. From crafting the dialogue script to refining my findings, I relied heavily on the collaboration of LRJC volunteers, clergy, and lay leaders of the participating congregations.

There were moments of tension. In one session, a White American man claimed to be Native American because he was born in the U.S., and in another, an African American woman, shared her discomfort with Latino shopkeepers speaking Spanish with U.S.-born customers. But there were also deeply moving moments. I watched a White American woman cry as a young Latina recounted the hardships of crossing the border. At the end of one of the collaborative projects that participants undertook after each dialogue, a Latina faith leader told me the experience had been healing “like therapy” to her congregants.

Overall, I found that deliberative dialogues on immigration in congregations can unleash the cosmopolitan potential of Christianity, but there were also limitations. I hope my readers will be moved to organize these courageous conversations in their communities. With prayer and the insights shared in this book, I believe Christian congregations can address legitimate concerns about immigration control and border security while leaving behind harmful myths about immigrants draining welfare, stealing jobs, or eating pets.

Filed under: american studies, civil rights, Education, ethics, gender studies, health, immigration, Latin American studies, latinos, LGBT studies, philosophy, political science, race and ethnicity, racism, Religion, sociology, transnational politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

How my community-based research turned into community service

Posted on November 6, 2024 by gkramer

It’s University Press Week! This year’s theme is #STEPUP. In today’s entry, Rebecca Glazier, author of Faith and Community, writes about how her research prompted her to step up and participate in community action.

By Rebecca Glazier

It wasn’t inevitable that I would find myself working in a church food pantry on a random Thursday afternoon, but it was definitely foreseeable. At some point, my research into religion and community engagement had become more than just research—I was building relationships with the congregations I was studying, getting to know their leaders and members, and volunteering alongside them in their community engagement efforts. And I was having a great time doing it!

This research project began in 2012, in an election year, with a bunch of political science students that I wanted to get out of the classroom and engaged in experiential learning. We surveyed and interviewed congregants at five different places of worship that year and we learned something really valuable: they were happy to talk about the issues that mattered to them, the problems in their community, and the concerns they had for their children. But they didn’t want to talk partisan politics. They didn’t want to talk about who they were voting for or what party they belonged to.

So, we embraced the community-based nature of the research and asked about what mattered to our research subjects. We doubled-down on community engagement, we talked about local issues, and we learned about the projects underway at different congregations. We assembled a Clergy Advisory Board to help us ask better survey questions and recruit more diverse congregations. We focused on building trust and relationships to improve our response rates.

And, before you knew it, I was working in a church food pantry on a random Thursday. I was also elbow deep in an elementary school’s flower bed on a Saturday and sore for days after cleaning up tornado debris. My research project had begun to look a lot like doing service with the congregations I was researching.

This was a welcome, and even purposeful, development for two reasons. First, it added rich, qualitative data to the research. By 2020, we had collected surveys from dozens of congregations, nearly 4,000 congregants, and hundreds of clergy. We understood a lot about the benefits of community engagement for members, places of worship, and democracy. But participating on the ground with congregations gave a new perspective on the diverse ways that they were actually engaging. It made it possible to include seven case studies, along with many other stories, in my book Faith and Community (Temple University Press, 2024), illustrating what community engagement really looks like in practice.

Second, it allowed me to live out one of the key findings of the book: people who are engaged in their communities have happier, healthier lives. Our data even show that they experience more frequent moments of deep spiritual fulfillment and closer relationships with God. By participating in community engagement with the congregations I study, I also receive those benefits. And for many of these service projects, I bring my family along with me. My son has been in water-balloon fights at community picnics, helped pull weeds to clear the view of painted memorials, and assembled “period kits” of free menstrual products to distribute to the unhoused. These experiences connect us to others in our community, help us find joy in serving, and make our lives richer. I am happier knowing that I am teaching my son about service and community early in his life.

Although the case studies have concluded and Faith and Community is now published, my community engagement will continue. The data tell a clear story of its benefits! At a book signing last month, we collected four boxes of donations for our local food bank. Last week, I was planting trees with Little Rock Tree Streets. Next month, we will be packing night lights to send to foster kids. What started as a research project has turned into a way of life.

Wilk Glazier (age 10), author Rebecca Glazier’s son, cleaning up debris after a tornado hit their city of Little Rock in March 2023.

Author Rebecca Glazier at a book signing event in October 2024, with boxes for donations to the Arkansas Food Bank.

The mural on 12th street in Little Rock, which the author and her son helped the Saint Mark Baptist Church clean in summer 2022.

Author Rebecca Glazier with her husband, Andy Manchester, and her son, Wilk Glazier (age 11), assembling “period packs” of free menstrual products with Little Rock Women for Good in February 2024. 

Filed under: american studies, Anthropology, cultural studies, Education, environment, ethics, gender studies, health, political science, Religion, sociology, Urban Studies, women's studies | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

What the world needs now is religion

Posted on July 17, 2024 by gkramer

This week in North Philly Notes, Rebecca Glazier, author of Faith and Community, writes about the benefits of faith-based community engagement.

Specifically, what the world needs now is people and places of faith getting involved in their local communities. It doesn’t matter what their religious beliefs are. Since 2012, my research team and I have worked with all kinds of congregations in Little Rock, AR—from Evangelical megachurches to Islamic mosques, from rural Baptist churches to multiethnic congregations in the heart of the city.

The data repeatedly show that faith-based community engagement benefits everyone. Whether you are personally religious or not, wherever you happen to live, you need congregations getting involved in your community. 

In my new book, Faith and Community, I use statistics from more than a decade of research, along with stories from real congregations, to demonstrate the benefits of faith-based community engagement. Members feel happier, healthier, and closer to God. Places of worship have higher attendance and warmer congregational cultures. And democracy is stronger because people feel like their voices matter and they can make a difference.

There are lots of ways that congregations can get involved in their communities. From food pantries to neighborhood cleanups to interfaith dinners, they are doing it every day across the country. These efforts help to address some of the most critical issues in society today and should increase. What the world needs now is faith-based community engagement.

The world needs faith-based community engagement because when people get together with others from their place of worship to serve their community, they feel happier and closer to God. Today, loneliness and social isolation are public health crises, with negative consequences as serious as smoking or obesity. But people who are connecting with others through service ministries are finding joy there. As one lay leader put it, “If you get people involved in the outreach projects, they have a good time.”

The world needs faith-based community engagement because when people get together with others from their place of worship to serve their community, they build relationships, creating warmer religious congregations where political divisions are less likely and attendance is higher. For many places of worship today, attendance is a critical issue. From 2000 to 2020, median attendance decreased by over 50 percent—from an average of 137 to just 65 attendees at worship services. Yet, in our data, we see a clear and positive relationship between congregational growth and community engagement. As one religious leader put it, “Those who are involved in our outreach efforts…benefit, but it also buoys our communal sense of well-being and satisfaction.”

The world needs faith-based community engagement because when people get together with others from their place of worship to serve their community, they are less jaded, more hopeful, and more likely to participate, thus making democracy stronger. Their efforts are efficacy in action, reducing political tensions and healing divides. One example is how congregations across Little Rock, from diverse religious traditions, worked together after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 to sponsor twelve Afghan refugee families. They gathered donations, organized carpools, built furniture, and found jobs for the new arrivals. As one lay leader who helped coordinate efforts at her church put it, “The church has been lucky to have these relationships. It’s one thing to do a [one-off, impersonal service event]. The Afghan families were different; they were our families.” There may be nothing more beneficial for healing political division and increasing efficacy than people working side by side with those with different beliefs and seeing their efforts make a real difference.

There are lots of ways for individuals to get involved in their communities that aren’t connected with religion. In fact, one religious person told us that they were inspired to better live out their faith by working with non-religious partners in the community. Speaking of one community activist in particular, they said, “I know Jesus, but I am not doing half as much as she is doing to serve people as Jesus would want us to serve. She just inspires me to do more and be a better neighbor.”

But places of worship are often critical neighborhood institutions, places that are trusted by marginalized communities, and centers for connections. As such, they have important roles to play in organizing people, providing motivation for engagement, and supplying resources and leadership to make real change happen. The specific issues they decide to engage on will depend on their theology, their neighborhoods, their members, and their resources. But their engagement matters. It makes a positive difference for individual members, congregational well-being, and democracy as a whole. Faith and Community provides a compelling case for why congregations should get involved. Because what the world needs now is more faith-based community-engagement.

Filed under: african american studies, american studies, Anthropology, civil rights, cultural studies, Education, ethics, philosophy, political science, Religion | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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