Why is the Deep South so right-wing on social issues?

[All Along The Watchtower]

It's sorta a mystery to me. Anyone have any insights?

[DC Al Fine]

Tl;dr because it's very religious. Why is it very religious? That's a more complicated question.

[RINO Tom]

Not trying to open up TOO big of a can of worms, but has it always been?  I will exclude "slavery" and "civil rights" as classifiable left-right issues for obvious reasons, but where did the Deep South stand on things like drinking age and prohibition when it was up to states back in the day?  Are its age of consent laws "conservative" socially?

However, yes, I would say its high level of evangelicals plays a huge role.

[ON Progressive]

It does beg the question as to why IA isn't quite as right wing as the Deep South with that church attendance number. I assume it's because the churches aren't evangelical like the Deep South?

[smoltchanov]

However, yes, I would say its high level of evangelicals plays a huge role.

+1

[OneJ]

Religion does play a significant role in this on some social issues.

To add a little to what RINO Tom was saying, the South was initially indifferent to prohibition, but eventually support for prohibition grew down here (started in Georgia) as a means to further intimidate Blacks at the time. By the time the effort to repeal prohibitition became popular, Deep South states like Georgia and Mississippi were holding out.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Guys this meant to be a a rhetorical thread

See: https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=290923.0

along with: https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=288714.0

[RFayette]

It does beg the question as to why IA isn't quite as right wing as the Deep South with that church attendance number. I assume it's because the churches aren't evangelical like the Deep South?

Yes, the Great Plains have high church attendance, but it is more concentrated among mainline Protestant (especially Lutheran) and Catholic denominations than Evangelical ones.

We see this divide right along the IA/MO border, in fact:

[President Johnson]

Tl;dr because it's very religious. Why is it very religious? That's a more complicated question.

A little off the original question, but I'm surprised Wyoming is obviously far less religious than most safe Republican states. It was Trump's best state in 2016 and never voted Democratic since 1964. But I suppose it's just more of a "libertarian Republican" state rather than a "religious right state".

[DINGO Joe]

Tl;dr because it's very religious. Why is it very religious? That's a more complicated question.

A little off the original question, but I'm surprised Wyoming is obviously far less religious than most safe Republican states. It was Trump's best state in 2016 and never voted Democratic since 1964. But I suppose it's just more of a "libertarian Republican" state rather than a "religious right state".

Wyoming is most like Alaska.  Lots of roughnecks working energy jobs.  Wouldn't surprise me if the religion numbers in ND have eroded with the oil boom up there either.

[darklordoftech]

where did the Deep South stand on things like drinking age and prohibition when it was up to states back in the day?  Are its age of consent laws "conservative" socially?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._history_of_alcohol_minimum_purchase_age_by_state What I find interesting is that Mississipi continued prohibition until 1966.

[Adam Griffin]

Well, it depends on how far back you want to go in terms of the origin point; you can certainly trace this trend back antebellum and beyond if you so desire. A society that largely arose from (and is still built around) a caste-based system is naturally going to be more socially conservative, among both those who benefit and those who don't.

If we're going to stick to the past half-century or so (I think the 1960s is a good starting point for a variety of reasons), then it is because cultural conservatism has been prevalent among both whites and blacks in this region. Elsewhere, whites in general have tended to be more liberal relative to the nation as a whole, while blacks were a much smaller share of the population.

However, as tribal politics has become more dominant and the breakdown of nuance in views relative to one's party has accelerated, certain Southern communities (in particular black voters) have moved away from their historically conservative views. Don't get me wrong: the South is still obviously more culturally and socially conservative on balance than the rest of the nation - even within the Democratic Party - but the lag is obviously being reduced, and rapidly.

I mean, who would have thought this map would be possible even 4 years ago? The South is basically tracking at the same pace as the rest of the country on most indicators of social progress, but of course starts out from a more regressive position in most cases.

[Skill and Chance]

Tl;dr because it's very religious. Why is it very religious? That's a more complicated question.

A little off the original question, but I'm surprised Wyoming is obviously far less religious than most safe Republican states. It was Trump's best state in 2016 and never voted Democratic since 1964. But I suppose it's just more of a "libertarian Republican" state rather than a "religious right state".

Wyoming is most like Alaska.  Lots of roughnecks working energy jobs.  Wouldn't surprise me if the religion numbers in ND have eroded with the oil boom up there either.

Ehhh, maybe, but Texas and Oklahoma...

[BenBurch]

It does beg the question as to why IA isn't quite as right wing as the Deep South with that church attendance number. I assume it's because the churches aren't evangelical like the Deep South?

The state went almost 10 points for Trump...it was redder than Georgia or Texas.

[ON Progressive]

It does beg the question as to why IA isn't quite as right wing as the Deep South with that church attendance number. I assume it's because the churches aren't evangelical like the Deep South?

The state went almost 10 points for Trump...it was redder than Georgia or Texas.

Texas isn't a state that is Deep South though. One presidential election also doesn't determine how red or blue a state is. Unlike every single Deep South state, Iowa actually voted for Obama.

[Spark]

Short answer is evangelicals.

[I’m not Stu]

Evangelicals make it socially conservative.

[Brittain33]

Looking at the support for Trump, it seems more like social conservatism causes people to identify as Evangelicals.

[Orser67]

In addition to religion and historical factors, another issue is population density. The South has the highest share of non-urban population in the country. Though there are a couple exceptions in the Midwest and New England, most of the bottom 20 states in terms of urbanization are known for being socially conservative.

[darklordoftech]

The South has always been the most hawkish region of America, something that arguably goes back to Jamestown being settled by people who were looking for gold.

[Rookie Yinzer]

It does beg the question as to why IA isn't quite as right wing as the Deep South with that church attendance number. I assume it's because the churches aren't evangelical like the Deep South?

And black people don't live there. Whether some will admit it or not, a lot of people's hard-right stances on social issues is steeped in the desire to oppress African-Americans.

[I’m not Stu]

It does beg the question as to why IA isn't quite as right wing as the Deep South with that church attendance number. I assume it's because the churches aren't evangelical like the Deep South?

And black people don't live there. Whether some will admit it or not, a lot of people's hard-right stances on social issues is steeped in the desire to oppress African-Americans.

But they do live in California and DC, where whites vote Democratic.

[Rookie Yinzer]

It does beg the question as to why IA isn't quite as right wing as the Deep South with that church attendance number. I assume it's because the churches aren't evangelical like the Deep South?

And black people don't live there. Whether some will admit it or not, a lot of people's hard-right stances on social issues is steeped in the desire to oppress African-Americans.

But they do live in California and DC, where whites vote Democratic.

I believe the focus was on rural states with high rates of church attendance. California and DC don't fit that description.

[DC Al Fine]

It does beg the question as to why IA isn't quite as right wing as the Deep South with that church attendance number. I assume it's because the churches aren't evangelical like the Deep South?

And black people don't live there. Whether some will admit it or not, a lot of people's hard-right stances on social issues is steeped in the desire to oppress African-Americans.

But they do live in California and DC, where whites vote Democratic.

Uhhhh California’s black percentage is literally half the national average (6-6.5% in CA vs 13% nationally). Outside of LA and Oakland you won’t come across a lot of black people in the state.

How do whites vote in LA and Oakland?

[I’m not Stu]

Whites in Los Angeles are largely Democratic. Whites in Oakland are even more Democratic.