Newswise, January 6, 2016--It's political season and there's
one thing you're sure to hear a lot about from candidates vying for
support--religion. Talking directly or subtly about religion has become part of
the American way in political campaigns.
A new study suggests including religion in campaign speeches
feeds a belief that those who are religious to some extent are trustworthy and
viewed more favorably. The study was conducted by Scott Clifford of the
University of Houston Department of Political Science and Ben Gaskins of Lewis
& Clark College.
"Their religious identification reflects a powerful,
widespread, but often subtle and unconscious bias in American society against
those who do not believe in God," Clifford said. The researchers note that
there has been only one openly atheist congressman (Pete Stark, D-California),
who lost in 2012.
Their findings were published in the journal American
Politics Research.
Clifford and Gaskins say their study shows the challenges for
non-religious candidates vying for public office.
Using national survey polling data, the researchers assessed
the willingness of voters to support an atheist candidate, the favorability of
candidate Hillary Clinton depending on whether she is viewed as religious, and
the view that a religious candidate is trustworthy.
"Our findings suggest that not demonstrating
religiousness is a significant roadblock for winning public office in the
United States, and being perceived as religious increases the level of trust
instilled in politicians by voters," Clifford said.
"For Republicans
(showing religiousness) will reinforce their existing support, but Democrats
can expand appeal to moderates and conservatives with displays of
religiousness."
Among their findings:
• Believing atheists are moral increases willingness to vote
for such a candidate
• 27 percent of respondents said atheists cannot be moral
• Majority said they would not vote for an atheist
• Mormons were 28 percentage points less likely than those
with no religious affiliation to vote for an atheist
• Jewish respondents were no more or less likely than those
with no religious affiliation to vote for an atheist
Additionally, they found that candidate Hillary Clinton was
viewed more favorably and perceived to be more honest if she also was thought
to be religious. That view was held most notably by non-liberals, who also
indicated they were more likely to vote for her.
Clifford and Gaskins used data from two polls--2007 Newsweek
poll of 1,004 adults, 2007 CBS News poll of 1,282 adults.
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