Christian nationalism independently predicts pandemic-era immigrant scapegoating among whites

Evidence

In May 2020, we asked Americans various questions related to race, immigration, and the pandemic. The responses were telling (see Figure 1.5). Our models took into account various factors that might lead white Americans to support Trump’s narrative scapegoating China, the Chinese, or Mexican immigrants such as conservative ideology, Republican identification, or education. Even after holding such factors constant, we found that as adherence to Christian nationalism increased, whites were more likely to feel that our lax immigration laws were partly to blame for the pandemic, to believe that immigration should be halted to protect American jobs, that we could thwart future pandemics by building the southern border wall, and that it wasn’t racist to call COVID-19 “the Chinese virus.” — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross, 129

Categorization

• SEED: Article angle: Christian nationalism as a predictor of xenophobic crisis framing independent of party and ideology — an underappreciated mechanism behind pandemic blame-shifting.
• QUESTION: What does the survey measure as ‘adherence to Christian nationalism,’ and what specific items is the scale built from?
• XREF: connects to: Christian nationalist zeal indexes commitment to a threatened racial and gender hierarchy — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 45; Christian nationalism independently drives racial intolerance in white Americans — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 98; Conspiracy media, white supremacy, and nationalism form a self-reinforcing ecology — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 108 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Cornology Christian nationalism predicts anti-refugee fears independently of party and ideology. #corroborates (0.85) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 240
• White Christian nationalists blamed Black Americans rather than social conditions for COVID disparities #corroborates (0.80) — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross, 133
• Christian nationalism conflates whiteness with Christian American identity #expands (0.75) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 14
• Christian nationalism predicts outgroup attitudes better than conservatism does #corroborates (0.75) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 72
• White Christian nationalism masks racial anxiety behind religious identity claims #expands (0.72) — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross, 121