Christian Nationalism and Economic Attitudes

Previous research has focused on white Christian nationalism as a factor shaping reactionary, and racially exclusive, political mobilization on the right. Less attention has been paid to how Christian nationalist beliefs promote racialized understandings of “deservingness” and views of economic inequality and the welfare state. Sociologist Penny Edgell will examine the following questions: 1) How does Christian nationalism interact with racial identity for White, Black and Hispanic Americans to shape attitudes toward economic inequality, the welfare state, and welfare recipients? 2) What role does Christian nationalism play in fostering racialized understandings of who deserves help from the state? 3) Do racialized understandings of deservingness mediate the effects of Christian nationalism on attitudes toward economic inequality, the welfare state, and welfare recipients? She will analyze data from the 2024 American Mosaic Project, a nationally representative survey with oversamples of Black, Latino, and Asian American respondents. AMP is a long-running research effort to understand Americans’ attitudes toward religious and racial diversity and cultural membership. The 2024 survey was designed to include multiple items measuring: individuals’ religious commitments (items about religious belief, religious identification, and the saliency of religion); attitudes regarding public religious expression and understandings of how religion is related to good citizenship; understandings of economic inequality and the welfare state; and the specific groups that Americans associate with particular social problems.