Local Government and the Politics of Decency

Objective. Local government officials exhibit a variety of responses to morality issues involving "decency" (i.e., pornography, prostitution, sexually explicit businesses). The purpose of this research is to account for these differences. Methods. This research analyzes a subset of data fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science quarterly 2003-06, Vol.84 (2), p.262-277
Main Author: Sharp, Elaine B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Churches
Cities
City councils
City districts
City halls
City politics
Data analysis
Decision making
Economic Conditions
Empowerment
Equality
Females
Feminist organizations
Gender
Local Government
Mayors
Morality
Of Genaral Interest
Personal empowerment
Policy Making
Political culture
Political institutions
Pornography
Pornography & obscenity
Pornography industry
Prostitution
Public Officials
Regional policy
Regional variations
Religion
Religiosity
Religious fundamentalism
Sex shops
Social sciences
U.S.A
United States of America
USA
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Summary:Objective. Local government officials exhibit a variety of responses to morality issues involving "decency" (i.e., pornography, prostitution, sexually explicit businesses). The purpose of this research is to account for these differences. Methods. This research analyzes a subset of data from a larger study of morality policy making at the local level, that is, all cases of decision making on decency issues (e.g., pornography, prostitution, regulation of sexually explicit businesses, etc.) that occurred in the period 1994-2000 in 10 of the 52 largest cities in the United States. Results. In mayoral settings, decision making on decency cases is likely to evoke pro-decency action from officials when a high level of issue salience is combined with high levels of church adherence, low levels of women's political empowerment, low levels of fundamentalist religious attachment, and higher levels of per capita income. Officials in city manager settings act more favorably toward decency activists if (1) higher levels of salience combine with a lower prevalence of fundamentalist religious adherents and higher levels of per capita income or (2) there is an interaction of salience and low levels of female political empowerment and high unemployment. Conclusions. Although exploratory in nature, the results confirm conventional expectations concerning the importance of salience and the prevalence of church affiliation; the results are counterintuitive with respect to the prevalence of fundamentalist forces and the extent of female political empowerment.
ISSN:0038-4941
1540-6237
DOI:10.1111/1540-6237.8402003