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

Item Type Journal Article Author Joshua Davis URL https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jssr.12510 Volume 57 Issue 2 Pages 300-317 Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion ISSN 0021-8294, 1468-5906 Date 06/2018 Journal Abbr Scientific Study of Religion DOI 10.1111/jssr.12510 Accessed 2025-02-19 04:44:36 Library Catalog DOI.org (Crossref) Language en Abstract Abstract 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.” Short Title Enforcing Christian Nationalism