The Consequences of Racialized Religious Identity

• In Event: Experimental Methods in Religion and Politics Research

Abstract

In this paper, I argue that religion is critical to our understanding of U.S. racial politics. My central research question is, "To what extent is religion, particularly among white Christians, intricately linked with racial attitudes?" There are many ways in which scholars have conceptualized the connection between religion and politics, such as focusing on denominational affiliation, religious practice, and beliefs. I rely on a largely ignored conceptualization of religion - religion as a social identity - and examine whether religious social identity is racialized. I introduce a measure of Christian social identity and examine its relationship to racial ingroup and outgroup attitudes among Black and White Christians. Then, I use an experiment to demonstrate that Christian social identity can be primed in explicit racial settings, absent religious cues. I find that Christian social identity is distinct from religious affiliation, belief, behavior, and Christian nationalism in its ability to moderate racial threat. Additionally, the effects of Christian social identity are distinct from the effects of white identity and racial resentment. I also show that religion can serve as an implicit racial appeal. My findings suggest that religion needs to be considered in our explanations of U.S. racial politics, and namely that Christian social identity can be viewed as one avenue through which white Americans express their racial attitudes.

Author

• Shayla Olson, University of Michigan