Abstract
Religiosity, especially religious fundamentalism, is often assumed to have an inherent connection with conservative politics. This article proposes that the relationship varies by race in the United States. In Study 1, race moderated the relationships between religiosity indicators and political alignment in a nationally representative sample. In Study 2, the effect replicated in a student sample with more reliable measures. Among both Black and Latino Americans, the relationship between religiosity and conservative politics is far weaker than it is among White Americans, and it is sometimes altogether absent. In Study 3, a tradition-focused view of religion was found to more strongly mediate the link between religiosity and political attitudes among Whites than it did among Blacks and Latinos. It is argued that the relationship between religiosity and political alignment is best understood as a product of culturalĝ€ "historical conditions associated with group memberships.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 271-282 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin |
Volume | 35 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2009 |
Keywords
- Conservatism
- Culture
- Fundamentalism
- Political attitudes
- Race
- Religion
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology