Academic research on Christian nationalism has revealed a considerable amount about the scope of its relationships to public policy views in the US. However, work thus far has not addressed an essential question: why now? Research by the authors of this Element advances answers, showcasing how deeper engagement with 'the 3Ms' - measurement, mechanisms and mobilization - can help unpack how and why Christian nationalism has entered our politics as a partisan project. Indeed, it is difficult to understand the dynamics of Christian nationalism without reference to the parties, as it has been a worldview used to mobilize Republicans while simultaneously recruiting and demobilizing Democrats. The mechanisms of these efforts hinge on a deep desire for social dominance that is ordained by God - an order elites suggest is threatened by Democrats and 'the left.' These elite appeals can have sweeping consequences for opinion and action, including the public's support for democratic processes.
Author(s): Paul A. Djupe; Andrew R. Lewis; Anand E. Sokhey
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 85
City: New York
Cover
Title page
Copyright page
The Full Armor of God: The Mobilization of Christian Nationalism in American Politics
Contents
1 What We Don’t Understand about Christian Nationalism in the United States and Why It Matters
1.1 What Is Christian Nationalism?
1.2 When? Which? Who? The Need for Mechanisms
1.3 Our Approach: The 3 Ms
1.4 The Data We Use
1.5 The Plan of the Element
2 The Fundamentals: Measurement and the Precursors to Mobilization
2.1 Operationalizing Christian Nationalism
2.2 CN as a Worldview? Evaluating the Stability of Christian
Nationalism
2.2.1 Do CN Measures Respond to Trump-Era Rhetoric?
2.2.2 Are CN Measures Christian Enough?
2.3 A Worldview Awaiting Mobilization? Trends in Christian
Nationalist Opinion
2.3.1 Precursors to Mobilization #1: Elite Movement Over Time
2.3.2 Precursor to Mobilization #2: The CN Worldview in the Mass Public
2.4 Toward a View of the Missing Mobilization Story
3 Christian Nationalism as Partisan Mobilization
3.1 Previous Work: Parties and Party Coalitions Provide Links
between Issues and Identity
3.2 Christian Nationalism Has Been Sorted into the GOP
3.3 Our Expectation: Christian Nationalism Effects are Contingent
on Partisanship
3.4 Panel Evidence Linking Christian Nationalism to Partisan
Change
3.5 Policy Attitudes, CN, and Partisanship
3.5.1 “Easy” Issue #1: Gun Control
3.5.2 “Easy” Issue #2: Gay Rights
3.6 CN Orientations toward Elite Influence
3.7 Affective Polarization, Partisanship, and CN: Putting
the Pieces Together
3.8 Republicans or Christian Republicans?
4 Mobilizing a Threatened Worldview into Politics
4.1 Christian Nationalism Links to Political Action
4.1.1 Desire for Dominance
4.1.2 Threat of Persecution
4.1.3 Religious Involvement
4.2 Political Action Gaps
4.3 Christian Nationalism Now Mobilizes Differently by
Partisanship
4.4 Christian Nationalism and Congregational Issue Engagement
4.5 Conclusion
5 Christian Nationalist Tensions with Democracy
5.1 Political Tolerance
5.2 Democratic Support
5.3 “Extremism In the Pursuit of Liberty is No Vice”
5.4 Threat and Rhetoric Collide: The Christian Nationalist
Insurrection
5.5 Political Engagement of Religion among Christian Nationalists
5.6 Conclusion
6 Conclusion: Putting Christian Nationalism in Context
6.1 To Recap: The Questions We Should Be Asking
6.2 Summary: Our Answers to These Questions
6.3 The Work That Remains
6.3.1 On Measurement
6.3.2 On Mechanisms
6.3.3 On Mobilization
6.4 Can a Citizenry Dressed in the Armor of God Practice
Democracy?
References
Acknowledgments
