Lower cognitive ability is linked to stronger Christian nationalist views, even after accounting for education
>A new study indicates that Americans with lower scores on a vocabulary test commonly used to measure cognitive ability are more likely to endorse Christian nationalist beliefs, even when accounting for their overall level of education. The findings suggest that the appeal of this political and religious ideology relates to underlying cognitive resources rather than just differences in schooling. The research was published in Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.
>The research, conducted by Samuel L. Perry, the Sam K. Viersen Presidential Professor of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma and currently a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation, explores the individual characteristics associated with Christian nationalism. Christian nationalism is a set of beliefs asserting that the United States has conservative Christian foundations. The ideology promotes the idea that the government should institutionalize Christian dominance in American society, often merging religious identity with civic belonging.
>“One of the most consistent predictors that Americans adhere to Christian nationalism is that they have lower education,” Perry told PsyPost. “But there have also been a number of studies that find that persons who subscribe to Christian nationalist views (even after accounting for level of education) exhibit significant knowledge gaps across a variety of different domains.”