Hahrie Han

And so it presents a different set of challenges, but it's ultimately, I think that same work of forging a common life.

And so it presents a different set of challenges, but it's ultimately, I think that same work of forging a common life.

So let me answer that question a little bit differently than how you asked it, which is that I think so the thing that we're best at as, you know, you know, I'm an empirical political scientist, you know, meaning I spend a lot of my time looking at the data that underlies politics. And as someone who studies political participation, like I look at a lot of that data.

So let me answer that question a little bit differently than how you asked it, which is that I think so the thing that we're best at as, you know, you know, I'm an empirical political scientist, you know, meaning I spend a lot of my time looking at the data that underlies politics. And as someone who studies political participation, like I look at a lot of that data.

And I think one of the things that I've come to over the years is that. The data points that we use to assess the state of political participation don't capture the full picture of what it is. And so let me just give you one example, which is that which is related to the book, which is that if you ask the average person, what's the most religiously active group in America?

And I think one of the things that I've come to over the years is that. The data points that we use to assess the state of political participation don't capture the full picture of what it is. And so let me just give you one example, which is that which is related to the book, which is that if you ask the average person, what's the most religiously active group in America?

My guess is the average person off the street would probably say, you know, that a fair number of them would sort of point to white evangelicals, you know, conservative white evangelicals, because there's so much kind of conversation about the role that evangelicals play in American politics right now. If you look at the actual data, the most politically active group is white liberal Christians.

My guess is the average person off the street would probably say, you know, that a fair number of them would sort of point to white evangelicals, you know, conservative white evangelicals, because there's so much kind of conversation about the role that evangelicals play in American politics right now. If you look at the actual data, the most politically active group is white liberal Christians.

Actually, I should say this. The most politically active group are atheists. But if you take the atheists out and you put people who have some kind of faith commitment and you compare across them, it's not black Christians. It's not conservative white evangelicals. It's liberal white Christians tend to engage in twice as many political acts as atheists.

Actually, I should say this. The most politically active group are atheists. But if you take the atheists out and you put people who have some kind of faith commitment and you compare across them, it's not black Christians. It's not conservative white evangelicals. It's liberal white Christians tend to engage in twice as many political acts as atheists.

as their counterparts, whether they are black Christians or conservative white Christians or something like that. And the question is, well, why are our perceptions so off relative to the actual number of acts of participation that people engage in? And I think what that tells us is that

as their counterparts, whether they are black Christians or conservative white Christians or something like that. And the question is, well, why are our perceptions so off relative to the actual number of acts of participation that people engage in? And I think what that tells us is that

the kind of the kinds of numbers that we use to assess the level of participation is not reflective of the impact that those acts can have in the public square you know and you know when i first look at that data i remember i sent an email to this uh progressive white evangelical pastor who i got to know and sort of said like how do you make sense of this and he said well

the kind of the kinds of numbers that we use to assess the level of participation is not reflective of the impact that those acts can have in the public square you know and you know when i first look at that data i remember i sent an email to this uh progressive white evangelical pastor who i got to know and sort of said like how do you make sense of this and he said well

it's not surprising to me at all because you have lots of people, white Christians, you know, lots of white Christians on the left who are doing lots of activity and engaging in lots of activism, but it's not connected to each other. It's not constructing relationships. It's not nested within organizations that have this ability to sort of project it onto a larger political agenda.

it's not surprising to me at all because you have lots of people, white Christians, you know, lots of white Christians on the left who are doing lots of activity and engaging in lots of activism, but it's not connected to each other. It's not constructing relationships. It's not nested within organizations that have this ability to sort of project it onto a larger political agenda.

And so it doesn't feel like it's adding up to much more, even though people are doing lots of things, you know, which kind of gives me the sense that, well, When we sort of do things like assess the state of participation, we need to not just assess like how much our people are participating, but how that participation is connected to these other kind of elements of the political process.

And so it doesn't feel like it's adding up to much more, even though people are doing lots of things, you know, which kind of gives me the sense that, well, When we sort of do things like assess the state of participation, we need to not just assess like how much our people are participating, but how that participation is connected to these other kind of elements of the political process.

So I think, I don't know that I've necessarily, so the question, one way to think about your question is like, is it because it's like tied to their political identity as white Christians? And I think, I don't know that I've, the data here is a little bit unclear because it's a lot harder to measure identity.

So I think, I don't know that I've necessarily, so the question, one way to think about your question is like, is it because it's like tied to their political identity as white Christians? And I think, I don't know that I've, the data here is a little bit unclear because it's a lot harder to measure identity.