Beyond “Heartless Conservative” and “Bleeding Heart Liberal” Caricatures: How Religiosity Shapes the Relationship Between Political Orientation and Empathy

Abstract

Is political orientation associated with self-reported empathy? Popular caricatures frame political orientation in terms of the "heartless conservative" and the "bleeding heart liberal." Yet, previous research has produced findings that present mixed evidence to support these caricatures. Using data from the 2004 General Social Survey, analyses show that the caricatures of the caring liberal and the cold-hearted conservative are supported by results for empathy-in which conservatives have lower levels of empathy than liberals-but this pattern holds only when individuals also have low levels of religiosity. In the context of high religiosity, self-identified conservatives do not have lower empathy than self-identified liberals, net of a host of sociodemographic characteristics. Our observations demonstrate that patterns in empathy across political orientation are evident only when levels of different forms of religiosity are considered.

Political ideology and pandemic lifestyles: the indirect effects of empathy, authoritarianism, and threat

“…In addition to these primary considerations, we would like to briefly discuss some of our secondary contributions. In support of previous research, we confirmed that political conservatism is associated with lower levels of empathy [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35], higher levels of authoritarian beliefs [48][49][50][51][52][53][54], and lower levels of several dimensions of perceived pandemic threat [1, 1 3 13-15, 17, 59-63]. Our analyses of our disaggregated conservatism index are also informative.…”

“…The first link in our theoretical model suggests that political conservatism contributes to riskier pandemic lifestyles by reducing empathetic concern. While we are regularly inundated with popular depictions of "heartless conservatives" and "bleeding heart liberals, " research consistently shows that political conservatives tend to exhibit lower levels of compassion and empathy (i.e., less concern for the feelings and experiences of others) relative to their more liberal counterparts [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. Cameron and Rapier [36,p.…”

Mattering to God and to the Congregation: Gendered Effects in Mattering as a Mechanism Between Religiosity and Mental Health

“…Our study suggests that this relationship may be attributable, in part, to differences in mattering. A central tenet of most religious traditions is to show kindness and perform charitable or supportive acts toward one's neighbor (Ellison 1992;Schieman, Bierman, and Upenieks 2019). Religious beliefs also gain efficacy through congregational networks that collectively and regularly reinforce such values and serve as conduits of social support.…”

“…One function of the social relationships formed within religious congregations are to facilitate enhanced feelings of significance toward others (Petersen and Roy 1985). What is more, given the emphasis placed on altruistic behavior toward one's neighbor in many religious faiths (Schieman, Bierman, and Upenieks 2019), frequent attenders might perceive an enhanced capability to enact positive changes in others' lives. These perceptions are likely rooted in beliefs that one's own action can or should make a difference to others.…”

Are we what parties we support? Personality traits and party support in a multi‐party system

“…When the explanatory power of socio‐economic factors has diminished, scholars have looked for other potential accounts. A growing number of studies have found a connection between personality or personality traits , that is, relatively permanent individual characteristics, and political behavior (Arvan, 2013; Duspara & Greitemeyer, 2017; Eisenberg‐Berg & Mussen, 1980; Hasson et al., 2018; Jonason, 2014; Schieman et al., 2019; Unnever et al., 2005).…”