Religious ideological orientation now predicts political views better than denomination or party

Evidence

In the 1980s, Princeton sociologist Robert Wuthnow proposed that American religion had experienced a “restructuring.” One of the main axes upon which the shift took place concerned the public expression of religion, especially the intersection of Christianity and American identity and civic life. Now Americans of different religious traditions and even political persuasions could be organized by how much they support ideologies like Christian nationalism. Simply put, knowing you are an Ambassador or Rejecter of Christian nationalism can now tell us far more about your social and political views than knowing what denomination you affiliate with, how often you attend church, and even whether you identify as Democrat or Republican. — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 173

Categorization

• DEFINE: Articulates the book’s central re-orientation: don’t assume ‘white evangelical’ equals Christian nationalist — all four orientations coexist within every demographic and political group.
• XREF: connects to: Personal religious practice and Christian nationalism predict opposite political attitudes — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 458; Christian nationalism, not denomination, now predicts Americans’ politics — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 454; Christian nationalism predicts outgroup attitudes better than conservatism does — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 72 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Religious fundamentalism predicts prejudice only through rightwing authoritarianism #expands (0.75) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 2134
• Party affiliation and religiosity predict American suspicion of Muslims #qualifies (0.75) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 828
• Ideological labels function as identity markers more than coherent belief systems. #complicates (0.75) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 126
• Right-wing authoritarianism predicts religious orthodoxy across Judaism and Islam too #expands (0.72) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 459
• Religious life-outlook correlates with the highest authoritarianism and dogmatism #corroborates (0.72)