The Relationship Between Religious Orientation, Right-Wing Authoritarianism, and Implicit Sexual Prejudice

Abstract

The relationship between intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest religious orientations, right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), and implicit and explicit attitudes toward homosexual individuals were examined within a sample of predominantly Protestant college students in the United States. Implicit attitudes were measured with the Implicit Association Test, a computer program that recorded reaction times as participants categorized symbols (of heterosexual and homosexual individuals) and adjectives (good or bad words). Participants displayed fairly negative implicit and explicit attitudes toward homosexual individuals (i.e., sexual prejudice). Intrinsic religious orientation uniquely predicted increased explicit sexual prejudice (when extrinsic, quest, and impression management were statistically controlled), and RWA appeared to mediate this effect. In contrast, the positive relationship between intrinsic religion and implicit sexual prejudice did not disappear when controlling for RWA. Although RWA seemed to be related to self-reports of prejudice, intrinsic religious orientation was uniquely related to automatic negative attitudes toward homosexual individuals.