"This study provides the first systematic book-length reassessment and restatement of the sociological approach to voting in the United States in more than 20 years. It challenges widespread arguments that the importance of social cleavages have declined significantly in recent years as a result of postindustrial social and economic changes.". "The book reconceptualizes the concept of social cleavage, focusing on four major cleavages in American society: class, religion, gender, and race. It identifies a series of important changes in the alignments of the groups comprising these four cleavages. It examines the implications of these changes for the Democratic and Republican Parties, and assesses the impact on each parties' electoral coalition."--BOOK JACKET.