Cultural alignment shapes economic interpretation, not the reverse, for white evangelicals

Evidence

The election was not decided by those “left behind” economically, political scientists discovered; it was decided by dominant groups anxious about their future status. This sense of group threat proved impervious to economic arguments or policy proposals. Research discounting the role of economic hardship in predicting support for Trump reinforces earlier research into white evangelical political behavior. For evangelicals, cultural alignments dictated responses to economic circumstances, rather than the other way around. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 603

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: The closing inversion — culture’ alignment ‘dictates responses to economic circumstances’ — is the paradigmatic reversal at the heart of how cultural identity works as a lens rather than a dependent variable.
• XREF: connects to: Welfare-cut theology conveniently serves wealthy evangelical donors’ labor-cost interests — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 205