出版社:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
摘要:This article explores the relationship between religiosity and voting decisions in Spain and Portugal. We study whether religion (measured as church attendance and opinions about moral issues) influences voting for the two main political parties. Results show a different relationship between religion and voting in both countries: only in Spain religious beliefs play an important role in electoral behaviour. We claim that to account for this finding several factors need to be considered, namely the different configuration of the party systems and religious maps, the distinctive mechanisms linking religious identities with voting and, above all, the important role played by political leaders in activating religiosity within the electoral competition.