Belief that Christians make the truest Americans fluctuates with societal tensions
Evidence
In 1996, 2004, and 2014, the GSS asked how important Americans believe being a Christian is for being “truly American.” Though it is only a single-item measure, at the very least it indicates how much Americans conflate Christian identity with American civic belonging and corresponds quite well with our Christian nationalism measure in the BRS. — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 196
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: American atheist distrust stems from anomalous high religiosity — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 306; The shift from ‘true’ to ‘truest’ marks territorialized, comparative faith — Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on…, 69; The more religious a Muslim appears, the less American they are perceived to be — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 450 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- American atheist distrust stems from anomalous high religiosity
#expands(0.82) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 306 - The shift from ‘true’ to ‘truest’ marks territorialized, comparative faith
#complicates(0.78) — Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities, 69 - The more religious a Muslim appears, the less American they are perceived to be
#corroborates(0.75) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 450 - Americans mistakenly believe they are different from other nations.
#expands(0.72) — Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie, 121 - Belief in God’s existence, not lifestyle, drives outgroup distrust.
#corroborates(0.72) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 292