Race, Religion, and Anti‐Poverty Policy Attitudes

Abstract

Using the 2008 National Politics Study, the present study indicates that while African Americans are more likely than whites to hear sermons about poverty and other political issues, hearing such sermons more consistently associates with support for anti‐poverty government programs among non‐Hispanic whites than among both African Americans and Hispanics. The racially/ethnically marginalized status of blacks and Hispanics may contribute to these groups being more receptive than whites to religious messages emphasizing social inequality. The contrasting racial experiences of dominance and marginalization may also help explain why hearing politicized sermons is more meaningful to the progressive social welfare attitudes of whites than to African Americans and Hispanics. This expectation is rooted in the heightened variability of perspectives among whites and their religious organizations regarding the government's role in aiding the economically disadvantaged. Conversely, the vast majority of blacks and Hispanics support the government helping individuals who fallen upon hard times. The greater variability in opinion among whites may also allow for greater differences in opinion to emerge between whites who attend relative to those outside of religious congregations led by clergy emphasizing spiritual and political solidarity with the poor than is the case for African Americans and Hispanics.

Immigrant-Conscious Congregations: Race, Ethnicity, and the Rejection of Anti-Immigrant Frames

“…Like past work, our study suggests that attending congregations like Central in which clergy discuss social-political issues may be more persuasive for Whites than for Blacks and Hispanics (Brown and Brown 2017; Brown et al 2016). While Hispanics are more likely to attend congregations led by clergy with a commitment to discussing and serving immigrants, attending these congregations more strongly associates with White progressive views of immigrants than it does for Blacks and Hispanics.…”

“…It follows that individuals who attend these types of congregations, regardless of religious faith, political partisanship, and standard demographic factors, tend to be more critical of restrictive immigration policies (Brown and Brown 2017; Nteta and Wallsten 2012). Interestingly, a number of studies suggest that these effects may only hold true for Whites (Brown et al 2016; Brown and Brown 2015; 2017; Brown, Brown, and Blasé 2013; Brown, Kaiser, and Jackson 2014; Brown 2010). The current study seeks to add clarity to understandings of the connection between race, religion, and perception of immigration frames via an exploratory study using the 2004 and 2008 National Politics Study.…”

Presidential Address: Religion and Power—A Return to the Roots of Social Scientific Scholarship

“…These themes include: The impact of religious affiliation or religiosity on socioeconomic outcomes (e.g., Scheve and Stasavage ). The effects of religious attitudes and behaviors on sociopolitical attitudes (e.g., Brown et al. ; Brown, Kaiser, and Jackson ). The effects of social status and identity on religious attitudes (e.g., Kokosalakis ). The ways in which stratification systems of race, ethnicity, and class impact or are impacted by religion (e.g., Collett and Lizardo ; Frost and Edgell ; Kim ; Smith and Faris ). How religion impacts society at the macro level, namely, culture, politics, and the economy (Beckford ; Orsi ). How religion serves to legitimate or delegitimate sociopolitical systems (e.g., Billings and Scott ; Davidson and Pyle ; Lincoln ; Pyle and Davidson ; Wuthnow ). …”

“…r The impact of religious affiliation or religiosity on socioeconomic outcomes (e.g., Scheve and Stasavage 2006). r The effects of religious attitudes and behaviors on sociopolitical attitudes (e.g., Brown et al 2016;Brown, Kaiser, and Jackson 2014). r The effects of social status and identity on religious attitudes (e.g., Kokosalakis 1985). r The ways in which stratification systems of race, ethnicity, and class impact or are impacted by religion (e.g., Collett and Lizardo 2009;Frost and Edgell 2017;Kim 2011;Smith and Faris 2005).…”

Sorting the Left from the Rest: The Communitarian Religious Perspective and Liberal Economic Attitudes

“…To be sure, scholars are learning more about religion's influence on attitudes about issues in the economic domain (see Brown et al . ; McCarthy et al . ; McDaniel ), and those who study religion know that, like political ideology, it is a multifaceted concept.…”