3 - Who Dwells in His House?

Summary

Chapter 3 offers an empirical examination of how adherence to American religious exceptionalism influences national identity attachments. Empirical analyses show how adherence to American religious exceptionalism promotes national devotion and shapes citizens’ perceptions of the “ideal American.” Statistical evidence corroborates the main theoretical presumptions, which is that American religious exceptionalism’s disciples are strongly attached to the nation and largely reject any form of criticism toward their beloved America. American religious exceptionalism’s disciples are more likely than dissidents of the laity to view the national “us” in ethnocultural terms, and equally likely as dissidents and laity to subscribe to liberalism-based traditions of national identity attachment. Overall, disciples endorse a very narrow definition of what it means to be an American that favors Whites, Christians, and men. Disciples are also shown to be fierce defenders of the cultural status quo: They are skeptics of the existence of racism and sexism and are fierce defenders of maintaining Christian and White male dominance in all facets of American society.