Check out our new research published in Psychological Science

Learn more about how claims of anti-Christian bias can serve as a racial dog whistle

Social scientists are increasingly sounding alarm bells about White Christian nationalism—an ethnoracial ideology that links Christian and White nationalism in the U.S. Simultaneously, some politicians openly proclaim pro-Christian views and claim that Christians are victimized. In a recently published paper in Psychological Science, we provide novel evidence that such rhetoric can serve as a racial dog whistle for White Christian American adults, who interpret anti-Christian bias claims as implicating anti-White bias. Further, White Christians believe politicians concerned about anti-Christian bias are concerned about White, but not Black, people. We demonstrate that this dog- whistle tactic may be effective because both White and Black Christians perceive it as more palatable than overtly racial language. Results have important implications for psychologists, sociologists, and political scientists interested in racial and religious cognition, coalition building, social movements, and political discourse, as well as for the media, political leaders, and everyday consumers of political language.

You can read this paper, which Dr. Pasek co-authored with Rosemary Al-Kire, Chad Miller, Samuel Perry, and Clara Wilkins, here:

Al-Kire, R. L., Miller, C. A., Pasek, M. H., Perry, S. L., & Wilkins, C. L. (in press). White by another name? Can anti-Christian bias claims serve as a racial dog whistle? Psychological Science. doi:10.1177/09567076241236162.