Includes bibliographical references and index.

Religion as metaphysical instruction, and its influence on political participation -- Christianity and politics in Africa -- Differences in contemporary Christian sermon content -- Effects of sermons on citizen s: evidence from the lab -- Recharging sermon influence: evidence from surveys and focus groups -- Group-level political engagement -- Implica tions and conclusions.

"Does religion influence political participation? This book takes up this pressing debate using Christianity in sub-Saharan Africa as its e mpirical base to demonstrate that religious teachings communicated in s ermons can influence both the degree and the form of citizens' politica l participation. McClendon and Riedl document some of the current diver sity of sermon content in contemporary Christian houses of worship and then use a combination of laboratory experiments, observational survey data, focus groups, and case comparisons in Zambia, Uganda, and Kenya t o interrogate the impact of sermon exposure on political participation and the longevity of that impact. Pews to Politics in Africa leverages the pluralism of sermons in sub-Saharan Africa to gain insight into the content of cultural influences and their consequences for how ordinary citizens participate in politics"-- Provided by publisher.