“Godless Democrats and Pious Republicans? Religion and Politics from Kennedy to Trump” is the title of a forum hosted by the Fresno Pacific University Political Science Department.
The guest speaker is Ryan Claassen, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. The free event begins at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 8, 2017, in Steinert Campus Center, Room 103, on the main FPU campus, 1717 S. Chestnut Ave., Fresno.
Among the subjects Claassen teaches to doctoral and undergraduate students are quantitative research methods, American politics and political behavior. His first book, Godless Democrats and Pious Republicans? Party Activists, Party Capture, and the ‘God Gap’ was published by Cambridge University Press and received excellent reviews in The Christian Century, Perspectives and Public Opinion Quarterly. Upcoming book projects include coediting The Evangelical Crackup, scheduled for spring 2017 from Temple University Press, and coauthoring Ignorance Abroad, from Yale University Press.
Claassen’s research centers around political engagement and covers political participation, citizen competence, public opinion, election administration, religion and politics, interest groups and racial and ethnic politics. Recent work has appeared in American Politics Research, The Journal of Politics, The Journal of Political Science Education, Political Behavior, Political Research Quarterly and Public Opinion Quarterly. Claassen grew up in the Fresno area and is the son of FPU Professor Emeritus Ron Claassen, D.Min. His B.A. is from Goshen College and his Ph.D. is from the University of California, Davis.
For more information, contact Bret Kincaid, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, at bret.kincaid@fresno.edu, 559-453-2067; or Ken Martens Friesen, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, at ken.fresen@fresno.edu, 559-453-7126.