Religious Priming: How Does Religion Affect Democratic Values?

• In Event: Intersectionality: Religion and Cross-Cutting Cleavages

Abstract

In the wake of a worldwide resurgence in religious fundamentalism, the question of how religion affects democratic values has become a focal point of many debates. Even though advocates of secularization theory have long held that the role of religion in political life would diminish concurrently with economic development and modernization, there has been growing recognition in recent years that religion still plays a role in politics (Cladis, 2010; Esmer & Pettersson, 2007; Wald, Silverman, & Fridy, 2005; Wald & Wilcox, 2006).
Recent empirical studies conclude that religiosity is associated with for example political participation, voting behavior and institutional trust (e.g., Acevedo & Chaudhary, 2015; Djupe & Gilbert, 2006; Esmer & Pettersson, 2007; McDaniel, Nooruddin, & Shortle, 2011; Neiheisel, Djupe, & Sokhey, 2009; Omelicheva & Ahmed, 2017). Other studies show that religion plays a role in attitudes such as tolerance and prejudice among the citizenry (e.g., Acevedo & Chaudhary, 2015; Banfi, Gianni, & Giugni, 2016; Pazit Ben-Nun Bloom, Arikan, & Courtemanche, 2015; Kotler-Berkowitz, 2001; Nicolet & Tresch, 2009; Patterson, 2004; Saroglou, 2011).
Furthermore, a part of the literature has discussed the highly controversial question whether some religions are more suitable for democracy than others. Some theorists (Fukuyama, 1992; Huntington, 1984, 1991, 1996a; Kedourie, 1994; Lewis, 1994; Lipset, 1994) argue that Islam, unlike Christianity, is monolithic and anti-democratic and therefore forbids that Muslims support democracy. Other theorists (Esposito, Sonn, & Voll, 2016; Esposito & Voll, 1996; Halliday, 1995; Mernissi, 2002) reject the claim that Islam and democracy are incompatible and argue that Muslims may very well endorse democracy. Discussions about whether Islam, unlike Christianity, is incompatible with democracy have mostly focused on issues of theology and religious doctrines. Unfortunately, very few empirical studies at the individual level investigate the impact of religion on democratic attitudes among Muslims compared with Christians (Diamond & Plattner, 2008; Fish, 2011).
However, it remains unsettled how individual religion affects support for democracy and democratic values and whether the effect of religion is the same in different religious groups. This study aims to fill in this gap by conducting experimental analyses of how different dimensions of religion affect support for democracy as well as democratic values in the two largest religious groups – Muslims and Christians. Unlike most existing studies based on observational data, this study is based on data from an advanced priming experiment fielded in 2019 (N = 951 Danish Muslims and Christians) and uses priming techniques to address the causal role of the three religious dimensions in democratic attitudes. More specifically, three treatment groups are exposed to religious stimuli in the form of questions about religious belonging, religious belief or religious behavior before answering questions about democratic attitudes, while the control group only answers questions regarding democratic attitudes. This study advances our knowledge of the causal relationship between the different dimensions of religion and democratic values among Muslims and Christians.
In addition to its methodological contribution exploring the influence of religion on democratic attitudes experimentally, the study makes three empirical contributions to the literature. First, it examines the effect of religion on political attitudes among ordinary citizens in a highly secular society as the Danish (Esmer & Pettersson, 2007; Norris & Inglehart, 2004, pp. 53-61). As mentioned, classic theories on modernization and secularization usually emphasize the decline of religion as an important force in public life. However, the empirical analyses disconfirm this thesis as they show that religion still has an influence on individual political thinking even in the Danish secularized society. Second, unlike most existing studies, it takes into account that religion is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon. To complete the understanding of the effect religion has on democratic attitudes and values, a more comprehensive and accurate categorization of religion has been used that accounts for three different individual-level dimensions –religious belonging, religious belief, and religious behavior (See, e.g., G. Layman, 2001; G. C. Layman & Green, 2006; C. E. Smidt, Kellstedt, & Guth, 2009). Third, the study investigates whether the impact of religion on individual attitudes toward democracy is the same among Muslims and Christians. The empirical analyses suggest that the effect of the different dimensions of religion is uniform across the two religious groups.

Author

• Arzoo Rafiqi, Aarhus University