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UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Christianity and the Politics of Poverty in the United States Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/50z8d10k Author Covich, Skylar Joseph Publication Date 2017 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara Christianity and the Politics of Poverty in the United States A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science by Skylar Joseph Covich Committee in charge: Professor M. Stephen Weatherford, Chair Professor Eric R. A. N. Smith Professor Kathleen Moore June 2017 The dissertation of Skylar Joseph Covich is approved. ____________________________________________ Eric R. A. N. Smith ____________________________________________ Kathleen Moore ____________________________________________ M. Stephen Weatherford, chair May 2017 Christianity and the Politics of Poverty in the United States Copyright © 2017 by Skylar Joseph Covich iii Dedicated to my wife, Theresa Russ Covich iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project was inspired by a multitude of life experiences. I have deep friendships with those whom I would describe in this project as being on the Christian Left, the Christian Center and the Christian Right, and I have deep respect for all their points of view. The hard part, of course, is turning all that experience and the initial set of questions into academically distinct research questions, developing an analytical process for answering them, and organizing chapter outlines. My advisor, Steve Weatherford, patiently dealt with this task. He helped me narrow down the policy areas to be discussed, often read over outlines of chapters before I drafted them, and always encouraged me to think in terms of political science to answer the research questions, rather than my constant inclination to add in many historical facts out of context. His caution regarding the “rather anodyne” statements issued by religious groups proved correct, as I soon found it better to look at media accounts and congressional hearing transcripts. My other committee members, Eric Smith and Kathleen Moore, provided generous assistance throughout the research process. Smith’s seminars on Congress and public opinion were great opportunities to learn about some of the key topics in this research project, and his insights about the writing process were very valuable. Moore, a religious studies professor, provided valuable insights early in the research process regarding the relationship between politics and religion in the United States. I am also grateful to the extremely supportive community of faculty and graduate students, past and present, in the Department of Political Science at UC Santa Barbara. Special thanks goes to Shyam Sriram, a passionate advocate of interfaith cooperation, with whom I am co-authoring an article based on part of this research. v I have seen first-hand the necessity of governmental programs as a blind student in need of many special services. My parents navigated the sometimes difficult process of getting these services for me, which illustrates the complex uneven policies for the disadvantaged I am exploring professionally. I have been fortunate to have studied with two political scientists who are also blind, Hisham Ahmed and Amit Ahuja. Ahmed, with whom I took classes as an undergraduate, guided me on my graduate school application process; Ahuja provided much helpful insight on the research process. While I did not conduct interviews as part of this research, I had informal conversations with several clergy whose insights had a big influence on this project. Father David Gentry-Akin, a passionate advocate of what I call Christian Center politics, was one of my mentors during my time as an undergraduate at Saint Mary’s College of California. Thanks also goes to Father John Love, Brother Pascal Strader and Rev. Dr. Ken Walters. Last but not least, my family provided the love and support I needed, both before and during this writing process. My father, Frank Covich, has always been there to support me in so many homework sessions, with moving in and out of student apartments, and with building a professional reputation. My mother, Linda Mitchell, first cultivated my interest in religion, history and politics, which she also shares. Finally my wife, Theresa Covich, is kindly formatting this dissertation. More importantly, though, she and her family have taught me new perspectives on theology, church history, and the philosophy of labor which have changed some of the emphases of this project. Our intellectual discussions are ontologically good, not to mention thought-provoking and edifying. vi VITA OF SKYLAR JOSEPH COVICH EDUCATION University of California, Santa Barbara Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science. Degree expected March 2017. Dissertation: “Christianity and the Politics of Poverty in the United States” M.A., Political Science, 2012. Subfields: American Politics, Politics and Religion Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research, Syracuse University. Certificate, 2013. Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga, California B.A., Politics, Minor in Theology/Religious Studies, magna cum laude, 2009. Hagerty Award for the Most Distinguished Student in the School of Liberal Arts TEACHING AND RESEARCH INTERESTS American Government Interest Groups Politics and Religion American Institutions (Presidency, Congress) Political Parties Elections and Voting SELECTED FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS UC Santa Barbara Graduate Division Graduate Opportunity Fellowship, 2015-2016 College of the Holy Cross, Boston, Massachusetts Graduate Fellow, Collegium: A Colloquy on Faith and the Intellectual Life, June 2011. National Federation of the Blind National Scholarship Award, 2007. PUBLICATIONS “Economic Performance and Presidential Trait Evaluations.” With Lisa Argyle, Marcus Arrajj, E.G. Garay, Julian Gottlieb, Heather Hodges, and Eric Smith. Electoral Studies, September 2016. CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS “Forming a Circle of Protection.” Presented with Shyam Sriram. Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, April 2017. “Catholics, Liberal Protestants and American Health Care Policy.” Poster Presentation, American Political Science Association (APSA) Annual Meeting. San Francisco, California, September 2015 . “Christianity and the Politics of the Minimum Wage in the United States.” Symposium on Religion and Public Life. Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, April 2015. vii CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS , CONTINUED “Christianity and the Politics of Poverty in the United States.” Christians in Political Science Conference, Azusa Pacific University, Los Angeles, May, 2014. “Economic Performance and Presidential Trait Evaluations: A Longitudinal Analysis” with Lisa Argyle. Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, April, 2012. UNIVERSITY TEACHING Department of Political Science, California State University Channel Islands Lecturer – Full responsibility for course, including preparing syllabus and course lectures, course discussions and grading. Introduction to American Government, Fall 2016-Present. Department of Political Science, UC Santa Barbara Teaching Associate – Full responsibility for course, including preparing syllabus and course lectures, course discussions and grading. US Political Interest Groups (Political Science 153, 30 students) Summer 2015, Summer 2016. Summer Teaching Institute for Associates cert., UCSB Instructional Development, 2015. Guest lectures at UC Santa Barbara “Interest Groups, Religious Organizations, Social Movements and Political Parties in American Foreign Policy” Political Science 127, Winter 2015. “Religion & International Relations.” Political Science 7, Winter 2013. “Why does the United States Have a Two-Party System?” Political Science 12, Winter 2011 Teaching Assistant – Lead discussions, hold office hours, grade papers & exams. American Foreign Policy (Political Science 127) Winter 2015 Introduction to Comparative Politics (Political Science 6) Winter 2013, Spring 2014. Introduction to International Relations (Political Science 7) Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Winter 2014. Introduction to American Politics (Political Science 12) Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2014. US Interest Groups (Political Science 153: Spring 2010. SELECTED UNIVERSITY SERVICE Peer reviewer, March 2015. At request of journal editors, reviewed a submitted manuscript for academic publication. Department of Political Science, UC Santa Barbara President, Political Science Graduate Student Association, 2010-2013. Graduate Student Association, UC Santa Barbara Member, Excellence in Teaching Award Committee, 2015. Department Representative to Student Assembly, 2013-2014. Graduate Representative, Advisory Committee on Campus Access, 2010-2016. viii ABSTRACT Christianity and the Politics of Poverty in the United States Skylar Joseph Covich Christian organizations in the United States take positions in favor of or against progressive efforts to address poverty primarily based on theological considerations. In order to support governmental programs and regulations such as welfare, comprehensive health care and higher minimum wages, they must believe that structural changes, rather than an increase in religious faith, will likely solve intergenerational poverty. However, religious organizations effectively lobby in favor of such efforts primarily in their capacity as providers
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