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On religion and politics

Religious Studies Professor Tom Tweed discusses religion’s role in politics and its impact on this year’s election season outcomes.

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In the Elections 2012 coverage on Know, experts from across The University of Texas at Austin weigh in on the politics and the issues, from the economy, the environment and demographics to immigration, energy, social change and more.

In this fifth conversation of our elections series, faculty member Tom Tweed discusses religion, its role in politics and its impact on this year’s election season.

Learn more about our faculty experts:

Tom Tweed is The Shive, Lindsay and Gray Professor of the History of Christianity in the Department of Religious Studies. Tweed specializes in religion in the Americas, Catholicism in America, Asian religions in the United States, Latino/a religion, method and theory in the study of religion, religion and transnationalism/geography. His historical, ethnographic and theoretical research, which includes six books and a six-volume series of historical documents, has been supported by several grants and fellowships, including three from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

James Henson is a lecturer in the Department of Government and directs the Texas Politics Project, which seeks to educate students and Texans about state government, politics and history through a dynamic website and speaker series. It also conducts regular statewide issues and political polls. The Texas Politics Project is The University of Texas at Austin’s home for the UT/Texas Tribune Poll, a statewide survey of public opinion on issues and elections in Texas.

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