Save the Economy, Liberty, and Yourself: Christian Nationalism and Americans’ Views on Government COVID-19 Restrictions
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Perry S
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7798614 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Understanding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake is vital for informing public health interventions. Prior U.S. research has found that religious conservatism is positively associated with anti-vaccine attitudes. One of the strongest predictors of anti-vaccine attitudes in the U.S. is Christian nationalism-a U.S. cultural ideology that wants civic life to be permeated by their particular form of nationalist Christianity. However, there are no studies examining the relationship between Christian nationalism and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake. Using a new nationally representative sample of U.S. adults, we find that Christian nationalism is one of the strongest predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and is negatively associated with having received or planning to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Since Christian nationalists make up approximately 20 percent of the population, these findings could have important implications for achieving herd immunity.
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Project description:What explains popular support for political violence in the contemporary United States, particularly the anti-institutional mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol in January 2021? Recent scholarship gives reason to suspect that a constellation of beliefs known as "Christian nationalism" may be associated with support for such violence. We build on this work, arguing that religious ideologies like Christian nationalism should be associated with support for violence, conditional on several individual characteristics that can be inflamed by elite cues. We turn to three such factors long-studied by scholars of political violence: perceived victimhood, reinforcing racial and religious identities, and support for conspiratorial information sources. Each can be exacerbated by elite cues, thus translating individual beliefs in Christian nationalism into support for political violence. We test this approach with original survey data collected in the wake of the Capitol attacks. We find that all the identified factors are positively related to each other and support for the Capitol riot; moreover, the relationship between Christian nationalism and support for political violence is sharply conditioned by white identity, perceived victimhood, and support for the QAnon movement. These results suggest that religion's role in contemporary right-wing violence is embedded with non-religious factors that deserve further scholarly attention in making sense of support for political violence.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11109-021-09758-y.
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Project description:Increasing COVID-testing and contact tracing is necessary to control the COVID-19 pandemic considering suboptimal vaccine rates. We conducted semi-structured interviews to explore views towards contact tracing and testing among 62 African Americans. Based on our findings, participants identified COVID-19 testing and contact tracing as beneficial, yet medical and governmental mistrust, stigma associated with SARS-CoV-2, lack of access, poor communication, and costs as major barriers. This study also highlights intervention targets to improve COVID-testing and contact tracing.
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Project description:What types of refugees do Americans prefer for admission into the United States? Scholars have explored the immigrant characteristics that appeal to Americans and the characteristics that Europeans prioritize in asylum-seekers, but we currently do not know which refugee characteristics Americans prefer. We conduct a conjoint experiment on a representative sample of 1800 US adults, manipulating refugee attributes in pairs of Syrian refugee profiles, and ask respondents to rate each refugee's appeal. Our focus on Syrian refugees in a 2016 survey experiment allows us to speak to the concurrent refugee crisis on the eve of a polarizing election, while also identifying religious discrimination, holding constant the refugee's national origin. We find that Americans prefer Syrian refugees who are female, high-skilled, English-speaking, and Christian, suggesting they prioritize refugee integration into the U.S. labor and cultural markets. We find that the preference for female refugees is not driven by the desire to exclude Muslim male refugees, casting doubt that American preferences at the time were motivated by security concerns. Finally, we find that anti-Muslim bias in refugee preferences varies in magnitude across key subgroups, though it prevails across all sample demographics.
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Project description:BackgroundChina was the last country in the world to relax COVID-19 restrictions. A successful public health policy requires public support. This analysis examined the factors associated with Chinese support for zero-COVID and relaxing COVID-19 restrictions in China.MethodTwo online surveys were conducted among Chinese participants in mainland China on June 10-13 (N = 460) and December 2, 2022 (N = 450). These two samples were similar based on the participants' demographics.ResultsThe results revealed that the perceived health consequences of a COVID-19 policy, perceived norms of approving a COVID-19 policy, and hope positively predicted the participants' support for the COVID-19 policy. The results further showed that collectivism and fatalism positively predicted support for zero-COVID and negatively predicted support for relaxing restrictions. COVID fatigue was negatively associated with support for zero-COVID and positively associated with support for relaxing restrictions. Liberty positively predicted support for relaxing restrictions in June and negatively predicted zero-COVID in December 2023. It did not positively or negatively predict support for the policy adopted by the government.ConclusionCollectivism, liberty, COVID fatigue, and fatalistic beliefs are important considerations connected to public support for a COVID-19 policy. The role of liberty was more nuanced and depended on the survey's time and whether the government adopted the policy.
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Project description:BackgroundThe success of government-recommended mitigation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic depends largely on information uptake and implementation by individual citizens.ObjectiveOur aim was to assess citizens' knowledge and perceptions about COVID-19 recommendations in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland.MethodsA cross-sectional electronic survey with open and closed questions was disseminated by community-based partners prior to the relaxation of government restrictions. Outcomes included citizen knowledge (9-question measure) and worry about the virus, perception of government measures, and recommendations for improvements. Comparisons used linear regression, controlling for age, sex, education, and health literacy. Free-text answers were analyzed thematically.ResultsOf 807 people who accessed the survey, 684 (85%) completed all questions and 479 (60%) gave free-text recommendations. Overall, 75% were female, the mean age was 48 years, and 93% had high health literacy. Knowledge scores were high, with a median score of 8 out of 9. Mean levels of worry about the COVID-19 pandemic were higher in women than men (55/100 versus 44/100, P<.001), and in respondents with lower health literacy (57/100 versus 52/100, P=.03). Self-reported adherence to recommendations was high (85%) and increased with age and worry (both P<.001). Respondents rated their own adherence higher than others (85% versus 61%, P<.001). Moreover, 34% of respondents reported having self-quarantined; this rose to 52% for those aged ≥75 years. Those who had self-quarantined reported higher levels of fear. Nearly half (49%) of respondents felt the government response had been adequate, though younger age and higher levels of worry were associated with considering the response to be insufficient (both P<.001). Analysis of open-text answers revealed 4 major themes: access to and use of masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer; government messaging; lockdown and lockdown exit plan communication; and testing for COVID-19.ConclusionsKnowledge, adherence, and satisfaction regarding government recommendations and response were high in this sample, but many desired greater access to personal protective equipment. Those with lower health literacy and those who have been in self-isolation reported greater concerns about the pandemic.
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