Religious Basis of Party Identification in Latin America: Denominations and Dimensions

Abstract

Religious denominations, such as Catholics, Mainline Protestants, and Evangelicals, and religious dimensions, such as religiosity and moral traditionalism, emerge as predictors of identification with any political party in Latin America. Religious denominations are positively associated to partisanship when compared to those who do not belong to any church, arguably due to their role as social anchors. Religiosity increases party identification, whereas moral values diminishes it. The former arguably entails socialization and deliberation, enhancing identification with any political party, whereas the latter is associated to citizens who arguably see moral traditionalism as a nonpolitical issue. Data come from 18 countries of the 2016 round of the Americas Barometer surveys.