Digital Christian Nationalism? Social Media and Gen-Z Attitudes toward Christian Nationalism.

• In Event: Sociology of Religion Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 1. Christian Nationalism

Abstract

How does digital life shape Christian nationalism among Gen-Z? This study bridges scholarship on Christian nationalism with research on online radicalization. Using 2023 PRRI data (N = 5,860), we conduct a two-stage analysis examining whether online engagement moderates generational differences in Christian nationalism and whether it moderates the association between psychological factors and Christian nationalist attitudes among Gen-Z. We find that Gen-Z reports greater disagreement with Christian nationalism than older cohorts, but this gap narrows among those who rate social media as important. Among Gen-Z, social media importance amplifies the effect of social trust, while video games importance amplifies the effect of discrimination experiences. These platform-specific patterns suggest that digital spaces may constitute a pathway to Christian nationalism operating independently of traditional religious socialization.

Authors

• Ruiqian Li, American University

• Corey Resweber, Purdue University