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American Political Parties Under Pressure pp 77–120Cite as

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From Consensus to Conflict: Political Polarization, the Culture War, and Gay Rights

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Abstract

Gooch examines the debate over political polarization in American mass political behavior. He focuses on the theoretical and empirical points of agreement and disagreement in the study of political polarization. Gooch offers a theoretically sound and empirically defensible definition of political polarization, develops an empirical measure of polarization in polling responses, and uses that measure to assess political polarization on gay rights issues in American public opinion from the 1970s through to 2016. While he shows there was a consensus on gay rights in the 1970s, he argues it has collapsed into significant opinion polarization in later decades. This polarization leads parties to adopt distinct positions on gay rights.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Government, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX, USA

    Donald M. Gooch

Authors
  1. Donald M. Gooch
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Correspondence to Donald M. Gooch .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Political Science, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, Georgia, USA

    Chapman Rackaway

  2. Political Science, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Illinois, USA

    Laurie L. Rice

Appendix 4.1 Frequency of Sample Poll Questions per Polling Institution

Appendix 4.1 Frequency of Sample Poll Questions per Polling Institution

Polling institution

Count

Percent

1996 Survey of American Political Culture

4

0.25

2005 National Hispanic Survey

1

0.06

ABC News/Facebook Poll

7

0.43

ABC News/Washington Post Poll

105

6.46

ABC News Poll

13

0.8

AP National Constitution Center Poll

10

0.62

AP-GfK Poll

2

0.12

Active Center Holds Survey

1

0.06

Adoption Survey

1

0.06

America’s Evangelicals

1

0.06

American Public Opinion About Privacy at Home and at Work

10

0.62

American Values in the 1980s

1

0.06

Associated Press/IPSOS-Public Affairs Poll

2

0.12

Associated Press/Media General Poll

1

0.06

Associated Press Poll

18

1.11

Associated Press/AOL Poll

1

0.06

Attitudes Toward Smoking and the Tobacco Industry Survey

1

0.06

Barna Report 1993–1994 Absolute Confusion

2

0.12

Barna Report 1994–1995 Virtual America

1

0.06

Bloomberg

5

0.31

Boston Global Poll

24

1.48

CBS News

28

1.72

CBS News/New York Times Poll

116

7.13

CBS News Exit Poll

1

0.06

CBS News Poll

83

5.1

CBS News Polls

14

0.86

CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll

89

5.47

CNN/Time Poll

10

0.62

CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll

11

0.68

Consumers in the Information Age

1

0.06

Defense of Marriage Act Poll

3

0.18

Democracy Corps Survey

39

2.4

Evangelical Christianity in the United States

1

0.06

Fair Juror Survey

1

0.06

Family Circle Ethics Poll

1

0.06

Family Research Council Survey

1

0.06

For Goodness Sake Survey

1

0.06

Fox News

21

1.29

Fox News/Opinion Dynamics Poll

21

1.29

Free Expression and the American Public

2

0.12

GSS

1

0.06

Gallup/CNN/USA Today Poll

38

2.34

Gallup/CNN Poll

1

0.06

Gallup/Newsweek Poll

12

0.74

Gallup/PDK Poll of Public Attitudes Toward the Public Schools

3

0.18

Gallup/USA Today Poll

3

0.18

Gallup Poll

153

9.41

Gallup Report

8

0.49

Garth Analysis Survey

1

0.06

General Social Survey

2

0.12

Gordon Black/USA Today Poll

1

0.06

Great American TV Poll

5

0.31

Harris Poll

18

1.11

If Women Ran America

2

0.12

Judicial Confirmation Survey

2

0.12

Kaiser Family Foundation Survey on Americans and AIDS/HIV

1

0.06

Los Angeles Times Poll

63

3.87

McClatchy-Marist Poll

7

0.43

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll

57

3.51

NPR Poll

3

0.18

National Family Values

2

0.12

National Public Radio Poll

3

0.18

New Democratic Electorate Survey

3

0.18

New Models National Brand Poll

3

0.18

Newsweek Poll

23

1.41

PSRA/Newsweek Poll

74

4.55

Parents Magazine Poll

1

0.06

People & The Press—Mood of America Survey

1

0.06

People, The Press & Politics Poll

3

0.18

Pew Internet & American Life Project Poll

2

0.12

Pew News Interest Index/Believability Poll

1

0.06

Pew News Interest Index Poll

7

0.43

Pew News Interest Index Poll/Homosexuality Poll

6

0.37

Pew Research Center Political Survey

1

0.06

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press Political Typology Callback Poll

1

0.06

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press State of the Union Poll

1

0.06

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press Typology Poll

1

0.06

Pew Research Poll

149

9.16

Pew Social Trends Poll

1

0.06

Public Religion Institute

14

0.86

Quinnipiac University Poll

92

5.66

Reader’s Digest Poll

1

0.06

Religion and Public Life

1

0.06

Roper/Ladies’ Home Journal Poll

1

0.06

Roper/U.S. News & World Report Poll

3

0.18

Roper Commercial Survey

1

0.06

Roper Report 77-7

2

0.12

Roper Report 85-7

1

0.06

Roper Report 86-10

1

0.06

Roper Report 87-2

2

0.12

Roper Report 87-7

1

0.06

Suffolk University/USA Today Poll

5

0.31

TIPP/Investor’s Business Daily/Christian Science Monitor Poll

4

0.25

TV Poll

1

0.06

Taking America’s Pulse III—Intergroup Relations Survey

3

0.18

Tarrance Group Poll

2

0.12

The Civic and Political Health of the Nation Survey

1

0.06

Time/CNN/Harris Interactive Poll

8

0.49

Time/CNN/Yankelovich, Clancy & Shulman Poll

40

2.46

Time/CNN Poll

17

1.05

Time/SRBI Poll

5

0.31

Time/Yankelovich, Skelly & White Poll

4

0.25

Time Poll

6

0.37

Times Mirror News Interest Index

1

0.06

U.S. News & World Report/Bozell Worldwide Poll

1

0.06

U.S. News & World Report Poll

15

0.92

USA Today

8

0.49

USA Today/Gallup

1

0.06

University of Pennsylvania

19

1.17

Views on Issues and Policies Related to Sexual Orientation Survey

25

1.54

Virginia Slims American Women’s Poll

3

0.18

Voice of Mom Survey

2

0.12

Voter Attitudes on Political Campaigns Survey

1

0.06

Washington Post/Harvard/Kaiser Family Foundation American Values Survey

1

0.06

Washington Post/Harvard/Kaiser Family Foundation Race Relations Poll

2

0.12

Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Americans on Values Follow-up Survey

4

0.25

Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Political Independents Survey

1

0.06

Washington Post Poll

5

0.31

What Americans Expect from the Public Schools Survey

1

0.06

Women on Their Own in Unmarried America Survey

1

0.06

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Gooch, D.M. (2018). From Consensus to Conflict: Political Polarization, the Culture War, and Gay Rights. In: Rackaway, C., Rice, L. (eds) American Political Parties Under Pressure. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60879-2_4

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