Is a “Christian America” a More Patriarchal America? Religion, Politics, and Traditionalist Gender Ideology

• Published in: The Canadian review of sociology 2019-05, Vol.56 (2), p.151-177
• Main Authors: Whitehead, Andrew L., Perry, Samuel L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Analysis; Boundaries; Christian theology; Christianity; Christians; Civil society; Egalitarianism; Gender; Gender roles; Ideology; Minorities; Minority groups; Nationalism; Patriarchy; Political aspects; Political attitudes; Politics; Populism; Protestants; Religion; Religious traditions; Sex roles; Sexes; Sexism; Tenants; Traditionalism; Traditions; Trump, Donald; Trump, Donald J
• ISSN: 1755-6171; 1755-618X
• DOI: 10.1111/cars.12241

Recent research shows that Americans who adhere to Christian nationalism—an ideology that idealizes and advocates a fusion of Christianity and American civic life—tend to hold authoritarian and exclusionary attitudes, particularly regarding ethno‐racial minorities and nontraditional family forms. Such findings suggest a fundamental connection between Christian nationalism and rigid symbolic boundaries, which would likely extend to Americans’ understanding of gender roles. Drawing on notions connecting religious nationalism with defenses of patriarchal norms and utilizing a recent national, random sample of American adults, the current study examines the link between contemporary Christian nationalism and traditionalist gender ideologies. Our analyses reveal that Christian nationalism is the strongest predictor of holding a more traditionalist gender ideology, even after taking into account a host of political and religious characteristics. Moreover, the relationship between Christian nationalism and gender traditionalism holds across religious traditions, including more gender‐egalitarian groups like Mainline Protestants and even the unaffiliated. We conclude by highlighting the implications of these findings for understanding contemporary populist support for Donald Trump, which previous studies have shown is undergirded by both Christian nationalism and sexism. Résumé Des recherches récentes démontrent que les adeptes américains du nationalisme chrétien – idéologie qui promeut de manière idéaliste une fusion du christianisme et de la vie civile américaine – tendent à arborer une attitude autoritaire et sectaire, particulièrement en ce qui a trait aux minorités ethnoraciales et aux organisations familiales non traditionnelles. De telles conclusions suggèrent un rapport fondamental entre le nationalisme chrétien et des bornes symboliques rigides qui s’étendent vraisemblablement à la manière dont les Américains comprennent le rôle des sexes. S'inspirant des notions reliant le nationalisme chrétien à la défense des normes patriarcales et utilisant un échantillon aléatoire récent d'adultes américains, l’étude actuelle examine le lien qui existe entre le nationalisme chrétien actuel et l'idéologie traditionnelle sur les sexes. Nos résultats révèlent que le nationalisme chrétien constitue le plus fort prédicteur de l'adoption d'une idéologie plus traditionnelle sur les sexes, même en tenant compte d'une multitude de facteurs politiques et religieux. Qui plus es