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Brad Wilcox looks closely at how the institution of marriage has changed over the past several decades, with particular attention to “Middle America,” defined as middle-income Americans with high school education. Prof. Wilcox argues that increases in cohabitation, out-of-wedlock births, and divorce — which were common among the lowest socio-economic sectors of society in the 1960s and ’70s — is becoming increasingly common among “Middle America” today. We discuss some of the reasons for this trend and talk about various solutions. We close with a discussion of evangelicals men and parenting.

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Mike Donnelly of the Home School Legal Defense Association and Patrick Henry College recounts the contemporary history of homeschooling, including both its secular and religious origins, and provides listeners with some basic demographic characteristics about homeschoolers. Our discussion then covers various legal challenges that homeschoolers face, culiminating with a discussion of a recent case involving a German homeschooling family seeking asylum in the United States.

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Prof. Joseph Daniels of Marquette University discusses why the two different kinds of social trust — “bridging” and “bonding” — are important for society and how religion matters in generating and maintaining this trust. It is noted that religious attendance significantly enhances social trust, although there are some denominational effects that temper this increase. We also discuss how different denominations view free trade and immigration.

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Prof. Louis Bolce reveals how the news media view Christian fundamentalists and how that media image translates into elite opinion. Based upon extensive use of survey research, Prof. Bolce notes that even though there has been a growing “religious gap” in the American electorate (larger than the “gender gap”), media outlets did not pick up on this trend in a serious way until the 2004 presidential election. The coverage of fundamentalists and evangelicals at that time tended to reinforce stereotypes about this group among individuals who are most attentive to the news.

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Prof. Eric Carter of Georgetown College joins Tony to discuss the difficulties facing professional athletes in the National Football League (NFL) and what role religion plays in helping stabilize the lives of those lived in the NFL spotlight based on unprecedented access to over 100 pro players. The rapid ascension to fame and fortune often places these young men into situations where they experience severe difficulties in coping and finding stable relationships. Our conversation turns to what role religion helps in overcoming many of these difficulties. As an added bonus, both Eric and Tony reveal their Super Bowl predictions.

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Paul Froese of Baylor University discusses how Americans have different views of God and how these different concepts affect our beliefs and actions in other areas of life. Based on extensive survey research and in-depth interviews he conducted with his colleague Chris Bader, Prof. Froese details four distinct images of God, including authoritative, benevolent, critical and distant. Click “read more” to find a connection to the authors’ website where you can take a survey to find out what your image of God is relative to others in the U.S.

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Merisa Parson Davis joins Research on Religion to talk about her new book on Bill Cosby’s much publicized “Pound Cake Speech” that he gave to an audience on the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education. She points out that much of the discussion of this speech in the popular media overlooked the religious dimensions of Dr. Cosby’s remarks. We discuss how African American churches and other religious organizations have responded (and can respond) to various social problems facing the Black community, including school dropout rates, incarceration of young Black men, and the challenge of entrepreneurship in the inner city. Your host also reveals his three favorite shows growing up.

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Prof. Jon A. Shields (Claremont McKenna College) examines whether the Christian Right conforms to norms of democratic deliberation and civil discourse. Our discussion covers the history of the pro-life movement, the rise of the Religious Right, and how those movements have changed over time. Prof. Shields offers evidence that Christian conservatives do, for the most part, enhance the democratic process contrary to popular opinion.

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Dan Hungerman talks about whether government spending on social welfare crowds out religious charity both at the organizational and individual level. Does an increase in government spending reduce religious charity and contributions? We also discuss whether secular competitors (e.g., shopping malls) reduce participation in religious institutions.

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Jay Hein of Baylor’s ISR and the Sagamore Institute talks about his tenure running the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in the Bush Administration. Our discussion focuses on the history and workings of the Faith-Based Initiative, and the proper relationship between government and religious organizations.

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