LAUSR

In A Matter of Discretion, Calfano, Michelson, and Oldmixon begin with the question, “how exactly do clergy — and Roman Catholic priests in particular — choose the political acts and attitudes associated with their role” (3)? The authors posit that priests use their room for discretion to strike positions that strategically balance their own views and those of competing reference groups, in order to achieve professional security and effectiveness. Evidence comes from original online surveys of American and Irish priests and a field experiment analyzing U.S. (United States) priests’ emailed responses to a question from a fictional parishioner. The book draws from a wealth of data on reasonably large national samples of Catholic priests. Survey data show tendencies among priests in such matters as perceptions of job stress and satisfaction, opinions and perceptions regarding discussion of public policy issues, assessments of “religious institutions,” sources of guidance in interpreting church teaching and rules, partisanship and ideology, opinions on select social issues, and overall political participation. The field experiment reveals the content and tone of priests’ answers regarding whether someone can receive communion at Mass if she supports abortion rights. The authors devote the bulk of the analysis, however, to whether assignment to various experimental conditions affects priests’ responses to most of the questions above. In the survey, these conditions prompt “cognitive reflection” on either job stress and satisfaction or on anticipated reactions of bishops and parishioners to priests’ discussion of public policy. In the field experiment, the authors try to prime thinking about the views of