Are wealthy white suburbanites generally socially liberal or conservative?

[Fwillb21]

Back in 2012 when marriage equality was on the ballot in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington, there were quite a few affluent suburban/exurban areas that voted for Romney yet voted FOR marriage equality (or in Minnesota, against the constitutional ban). I also wonder if these are the same people who voted heavily DEM in the 2018 midterms.

[R.P. McM]

Depends on where in the country.  But they mostly run the gamut on social issues (i.e. abortion, religious liberty) but are left of center on cultural issues (i.e. immigration). That's why these voters reacted worse to culturally conservative Trump than they did to socially conservative Bush 43.

Also, contrary to popular belief, evangelical conservatism tends to find its base in the suburbs and among the middle and upper middle classes.

As others have noted, this is a broad observation about the socioeconomic profile of engaged/ideological political actors, not a phenomenon endemic to evangelicals. If anything, in relative terms, we would expect engaged evangelicals to be less educated and urban than their counterparts in other religious traditions:

[darklordoftech]

Depends on where in the country.  But they mostly run the gamut on social issues (i.e. abortion, religious liberty) but are left of center on cultural issues (i.e. immigration). That's why these voters reacted worse to culturally conservative Trump than they did to socially conservative Bush 43.

Also, contrary to popular belief, evangelical conservatism tends to find its base in the suburbs and among the middle and upper middle classes.

i wonder why there's such a widespread misunderstanding on this?

I’d imagine Sarah Palin and the Tea Party protests played a big role.

[H. Ross Peron]

Depends on where in the country.  But they mostly run the gamut on social issues (i.e. abortion, religious liberty) but are left of center on cultural issues (i.e. immigration). That's why these voters reacted worse to culturally conservative Trump than they did to socially conservative Bush 43.

Also, contrary to popular belief, evangelical conservatism tends to find its base in the suburbs and among the middle and upper middle classes.

i wonder why there's such a widespread misunderstanding on this?

I’d imagine Sarah Palin and the Tea Party protests played a big role.

Ironic since sociological studies by Skocpol and others found that hardcore Tea Party activists were generally above average in income and education. Even Palin herself, despite being what Fussell would call high prole in culture, is certainly quite well off even before her political career.

[tallguy23]

It depends on how religious they are. If they don't go to church regularly they tend to be socially liberal.

From my experience, rich OC types care more about taxes and regulations than gay marriage and weed.