Divine influence: Religious foundations of U.S. foreign policy attitudes

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveReligion has been shown to affect the U.S. public opinion about foreign policy. Recent studies emphasize attitudes about issues pertaining to the Middle East. They also tend to focus on the perspectives of evangelical Protestants, so we know comparatively little about how being mainline Protestant, Black Protestant, Catholic, or religiously unaffiliated might affect one's foreign policy preferences.MethodsUsing data drawn from the 2009 America's Place in the World General Public Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, we analyze religion's impact on public attitudes about foreign affairs, comparing evangelical Protestants with four other religious groups.ResultsWe find that the main driver of religion's impact on foreign policy attitudes is nominal religious affiliation (“belonging”), not the frequency of worship attendance (“behaving”). Religiously unaffiliated Americans and Catholics—and to a lesser extent, mainline and Black Protestants—perceive the world as less threatening than do evangelicals. They also prefer multilateral, cooperative solutions to international problems.ConclusionAmericans vary significantly in their international threat perception and support for militant or cooperative internationalism based on their religious affiliation. In addition, evangelical Protestants’ preference for hawkish, unilateral foreign policy extends beyond the context of the Middle East.