Regional Divide Shrinks Between South and Nation

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Angie Maxwell, University of Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A new report, which challenges assumptions about the South as a region, has been released on the website of the Blair-Rockefeller Poll. In the report, “Religion, not Racism, Maintains Southern Distinctiveness; Democrats Could Make Inroads in the South,” political scientist Angie Maxwell compared the preferences and beliefs of Southerners with those of the country as a whole.

“The Blair-Rockefeller Poll reveals relatively little difference between Southerners and non-Southerners overall, with religion serving as the primary exception,” wrote Maxwell, the Diane D. Blair Professor of Southern Studies at the University of Arkansas.

Not only are Southerners more likely to identify themselves as Christian, 41.4 percent of Southerners believe “the Bible is the actual Word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word,” as compared with 31.5 percent of non-Southerners.

The report, which includes data from whites, African Americans and Latinos both in the South and nationally, addresses regional attitudes about the economy, President Obama and the role of government.

“More important, the report highlights the preferences of potential new Southern voters, which may have implications for the 2012 election,” Maxwell said. 

Maxwell’s report used data from the Blair-Rockefeller Poll, conducted in November 2010 by Knowledge Networks. The poll is a joint project of the university’s Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society and the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute of the University of Arkansas System. The full report is available at http://www.blairrockefellerpoll.com.

The Blair-Rockefeller Poll was created by political scientists Todd Shields, Pearl Ford Dowe, Angie Maxwell and Rafael Jimeno of the Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society at the University of Arkansas. With over 3,400 respondents, the poll has a national scope as well as ample sampling of such traditionally under-polled groups as African-Americans and Latinos. Additionally, by addressing topics that have been little studied, the poll allows researchers to identify socio-cultural influences on political values throughout the country with an emphasis on the South. The Blair Center partners with the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute to produce the Blair-Rockefeller Poll.

The Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society was established in 2001 by an act of the U.S. Congress and named in honor of political scientist Diane Divers Blair, who taught for 30 years in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. The center studies the American South from a variety of angles to reveal the undercurrents of politics, history and culture that have shaped the region over time. For more information about the Blair Center, visit blaircenter.uark.edu.

 The University of Arkansas System established the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute in 2005 with a grant from the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust. Based on the legacy and ideas of former Arkansas Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller, this educational institute and conference center offers workshops, seminars, public lectures, conferences and special events. Program areas include agriculture and environment, arts and humanities, economic development, and policy and public affairs. For more information about the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, visit LiveTheLegacy.org.