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Royal Gene Cravens

Professor of Political Science, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
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About Royal

Cravens' research focuses on the intersection of LGBT and religious identity. Overarching themes in Cravens' writings include understudied aspects of LGBT political behavior such as how LGBT religion and conservatism affect public policy and politics in the United States. Cravens is currently a Public Fellow in LGBTQ Rights with the Public Religion Research Institute and serves in the LGBTQ Caucus and Sexuality & Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Tennessee Has a Choice: Stop Adding Anti-LGBTQ Legislation or Continue To Cause Harm

Commentary,

In the News

Opinion: "What Will the Midterms Look Like Now That More Than 7 Percent of Americans Identify As LGBT?," Royal Gene Cravens, The Washington Post, February 23, 2022.
Opinion: "Record Numbers of Americans Identify As LGBTQ. What Does That Mean for Christianity?," Royal Gene Cravens (with Jonathan S. Coley), Religion News Service, February 23, 2021.

Publications

"Identity-Affirming Religious Experience and Political Activism Among LGBT People Copy What Is Title C" Journal of Contemporary Religion 36, no. 3 (2021): 501-524.

Shows religious LGBT people who attend affirming congregations are more likely to participate in a variety of political activism than LGBT people who do not.

"The Politics of Queer Religion" Cambridge Core 11, no. 3 (2018).

Serves as a political resource among LGBT people just as it does among non-LGBT people. Shows that religious LGBT people are more likely to participate politically than non-religious LGBT people.