Proudly We Hail? Affect toward the Flag, Civil Religion, & Christian Nationalism

• In Event: Religion and Political Behavior

Abstract

Using data from the 2016 ANES on feelings towards the American flag—the most prominent symbol of our political religion—as a surrogate for civil religious sentiment, we find (1) a relatively positive affect towards the nation, with variation across partisan and religious groups; and (2) a significant connection between civil religion and a set of intolerant and morally traditionalist beliefs often associated with the Christian right. Specifically, we demonstrate that Christians and Republicans, who display significantly greater affect toward the American flag than non-Christians and Democrats, connect those positive feelings not (so much) through their attachment with American identity, but to a higher degree through their religious and partisan identities. These findings suggest that the American flag may not be functioning as a unifying symbol of the nation, and is in danger of being coopted by sectarian, Christian nationalist interests. While the American Civil Religion identified by Robert Bellah persists, we argue that it is threatened by this increasing attachment to particular group identities.

Authors

• Alexander Cohen, University of California, Davis

• Jonathan William Dahlsten