American Politics & Quantitative Methods
Email: sfolson@umich.edu
Dissertation Title: “Sacred Commitments, Racial Convictions: Religion, Identity, and Racial Attitudes in American Politics”
Committee: Vincent Hutchings (Co-chair), Ted Brader (Co-chair), Christopher Fariss, Kevin Quinn (Emory), Nazita Lajevardi (MSU), Melissa Borja
Summary: My research intersects the fields of political behavior, racial and ethnic politics, religion and politics, and quantitative methods. In my dissertation, I argue and empirically demonstrate that religion and race are inextricably linked within American politics. I contend that religion plays a critical role in shaping racial attitudes, while beliefs about race influence religious experiences and identities. Drawing on historical and sociological research that explores the intertwined nature of race and religion in the United States, I argue that the impact of racial attitudes on American politics cannot be fully understood without accounting for religion.
To substantiate this claim, I provide an empirical foundation through analyses of the American National Election Study, Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Study (CMPS), and multiple original surveys. My findings reveal that white Christians possess distinct racial attitudes and racialized political preferences, which differ from those of Black Christians and white non-Christians. Importantly, I demonstrate that it is white Christians’ attachment to their religious identity—rather than specific religious affiliations, beliefs, or practices—that most strongly predicts these racial attitudes. I theorize that religious social identity is so closely intertwined with racial attitudes that when political elites seek to prime racial sentiments, they simultaneously activate white Christians' religious group commitments. Moreover, whites' racial attitudes shape their responses to religious appeals. Through multiple survey experiments, I provide robust evidence supporting these expectations.
My work significantly contributes to scholarly understanding of racial priming, illustrating that religious appeals can also trigger racial attitudes, even in contexts seemingly unrelated to race. Additionally, I demonstrate that the effectiveness of racial appeals may be more profound than previously recognized, as they potentially activate not only racial attitudes but also religious group attitudes.
This dissertation is a part of my broader research agenda, which focuses on identity, political communication, and political behavior. I employ a range of methodological approaches, including text analysis, Bayesian modeling, surveys, and experiments, to investigate how individuals perceive and interpret political issues. I am particularly interested in how Americans understand and communicate about race and racism. My research has received support from the Rapoport Family Foundation and the APSA Religion & Politics section.
For more information about my research, please feel free to email me or visit my website: www.shaylafolson.com.
