Liberty for Us, Limits for Them: Christian Nationalism and Americans’ Views on Citizens’ Rights

Abstract

Americans are often split along partisan and religious lines regarding which claims they consider “rights,” as well as which of these rights they prioritize over others. Beyond standard political and religious characteristics, we propose that a pervasive ideology that centers conservative religious ethno-culture within America’s deep story and future—Christian nationalism—plays a central role in shaping how Americans evaluate “rights.” Analyses drawn from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults show Christian nationalism is a leading predictor that Americans prioritize gun rights, religious freedom, and states’ rights, but deprioritize freedom of speech, the press, right to a speedy and fair trial, and protection from unlawful searches or seizures. Further analyses indicate Christian nationalism is the strongest predictor that Americans view voting as a privilege, not a right. Findings suggest Christian nationalism may incline Americans to support rights more suited to the continuance of the current social order and maintenance of power structures, while also making them less likely to support rights traditionally associated with challenging these structures.

Must religious nationalism divide? Race, government‐supported religion, and views of political solidarity and compromise

“…Whitehead and Perry (2020), for example, find the association between Christian nationalism and Americans' moral views (e.g., on LGBT rights, divorce, abortion, gender roles) shows little variation across race. Other studies fail to find much racial variation even in seemingly relevant topics of civil rights (Davis, Perry, and Grubbs 2023). And still others like McDaniel, Nooruddin, and Shortle (2022) find that Black Americans who subscribe to "American religious exceptionalism" may be less engaged politically.…”

Race over Religion: Christian Nationalism and Perceived Threats to National Unity

“…Adults who score higher on Christian nationalism hold prejudice toward atheists and Muslims, but their views on Jews are more opaque. Moreover, Samuel Perry, Landon Schnabel, et al (2022) find Christian nationalism is positively associated with support for "religious freedom" (see also Davis et al 2023). While this is almost certainly more oriented toward "Christian freedom" than freedom for non-Christian or irreligious Americans, there is in the language of Christian nationalism an appeal to religious toleration that is not the case for ethnoracial outsiders.…”

Speaking Truth to Power: Toward a Forensic Anthropology of Advocacy and Activism

“…This estrangement can lead to many problems within the forensic community in cases in which an LGBTQ+ person may be an unidentified individual, as it often leads LGBTQ+ individuals to eschew their family in the traditional sense in favor of a "chosen family" made up of others within the LGBTQ+ community. A common issue within the criminal justice system is that these chosen families are frequently ignored by investigators, thus leading to a delay in the identification process [95][96][97].…”

“…The end result is a revictimization of one of the most vulnerable populations. Instead, anthropologists should expand their analyses to incorporate the broader spectra of sex and gender (e.g., Adams et al [95], Bayers et al [96], and Meloro et al [97]).…”