The Paul Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics at Calvin College has received a $100,000 grant from the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation to study the role of religion in shaping civic responsibility in American life.

Henry Institute director Corwin Smidt says, “A study of civic responsibility broadens the analysis to assess both attitudinal, mitments and behavioral responses – as well as the interplay between the two. Since civic responsibility entails moral as well as behavioral dimensions, one might well anticipate that religion would be even more strongly related to civic responsibility than it is to civic engagement. But, since no such study has been conducted to this point, it is unclear whether this is the case empirically.”