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Religious Group Cues and Citizen Policy Attitudes in the United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2013

Todd Adkins ,
Geoffrey C. Layman ,
David E. Campbell  and
John C. Green
Todd Adkins*
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame
Geoffrey C. Layman*
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame
David E. Campbell*
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame
John C. Green*
Affiliation:
University of Akron
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Todd Adkins, Department of Political Science, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556. E-mail: [email protected]
Geoffrey C. Layman, Department of Political Science, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556. E-mail: [email protected]
David E. Campbell, Department of Political Science, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556. E-mail: [email protected]
John C. Green, Institute of Applied Politics, University of Akron, 302 Buchtel Commons, Akron, OH 44325. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The public opinion literature shows that cues about the policy positions of social groups influence citizens’ political attitudes. We assess whether cues about religious groups’ positions affect attitudes on three issues: protection of homosexuals in the workplace, improving the socio-economic conditions of African-Americans, and government-provided health insurance. We argue that such cues should shape issue attitudes and condition the impact of religious and political orientations on those attitudes. That should be especially true on issues closely connected to religion and for citizens with low levels of political awareness. We assess this argument with a survey experiment pitting pairs of religious groups on opposite sides of issues. We find that religious group cues matter primarily for cultural attitudes, among less politically-aware individuals, and for the religiously unaffiliated, Democrats, and liberals. The dominant effect is negative, moving these groups away from the positions of religious leaders and especially evangelical leaders.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , June 2013 , pp. 235 - 263
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2013 

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