We the (Christian) People: Christianity and American Identity from 1996 to 2014

Abstract

Religious identity, and specifically Christian identity, has long been a dominant symbolic boundary marker for inclusion into American society. But how has the salience of this boundary marker changed in recent years and in comparison to other boundary markers? Using multiple waves of the General Social Survey, we investigate temporal variation in the use of religion and other markers in constructing symbolic boundaries around American identity. First, we find that the Christian symbolic boundary both increased from 1996 to 2004 and declined from 2004 to 2014. Second, this pattern was not unique; in addition to the Christian symbolic boundary, Americans used a variety of both civic and ascriptive boundary markers to define American identity. However, our analysis also demonstrates that in 2004, the Christian symbolic boundary was significantly linked to national identity in a unique way while the other boundary markers were not. These results suggest that period effects and cultural events can influence the salience of religion in creating national symbolic boundaries. We discuss each of these findings, their relationship to the study of symbolic boundaries and American identity, and their societal implications.