Enforcing Christian Nationalism: Examining the Link Between Group Identity and Punitive Attitudes in the United States

This article examines whether the convergence of an individual's religious and national identities promotes authoritarian attitudes towards crime and deviance. Drawing on theories of social control and group conformity, as well as Christian nationalism's influence on intolerance toward out...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. VerfasserIn: Davis, Joshua B. (Verfasst von)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
Verfügbarkeit prüfen: HBZ Gateway
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Veröffentlicht: [2018]
In: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Jahr: 2018, Band: 57, Heft: 2, Seiten: 300-317
normierte Schlagwort(-folgen):B USA / Nationalismus / Christian-Identity-Bewegung / Gruppenidentität / Dissident
RelBib Classification:CA Christentum
CB Christliche Existenz; Spiritualität
KBQ Nordamerika
weitere Schlagwörter:B Capital Punishment
B Punishment
B Christian Nationalism
B Religion
B Social Control
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Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:This article examines whether the convergence of an individual's religious and national identities promotes authoritarian attitudes towards crime and deviance. Drawing on theories of social control and group conformity, as well as Christian nationalism's influence on intolerance toward out-groups, I argue that the inability to distinguish between religious and national identities increases desire for group homogeneity and therefore increases willingness to utilize formalized measures of social control. Analysis of 2007 Baylor Religion Survey data demonstrates that adherence to Christian nationalism predicts three indicators of authoritarian views toward controlling crime and deviance: support for capital punishment, stricter punishment for federal crime, and for society to "crackdown on troublemakers." These effects are robust to the inclusion of a comprehensive battery of 20 socioeconomic, political, and religious controls, and are consistent with previous research on Christian nationalism showing it is not religious commitment or traditionalism per se that leads to intolerant attitudes, but rather the conflation of one's religious identity with other social identities, in this case national. These findings indicate that, beyond sociopolitical and religious influences, the belief that the United States is, and should be, a "Christian nation" increases desires for group conformity and strict control for both criminals and "troublemakers."
ISSN:1468-5906
Enthält:Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12510