Divine Direction: How Providential Religious Beliefs Shape Foreign Policy Attitudes

Abstract

Despite recent scholarly and popular work regarding the role of religion in US foreign policy, we still know little about how religious factors affect the public's foreign policy views. This paper proposes one potential mechanism for influence—the connection of providential beliefs to foreign policy issues through a compelling religious frame—and tests the explanatory power of this approach through a nationally administered survey experiment. The “providential” orientation of respondents—the extent to which they believe in a divinely authored plan—is measured through questions that tap the nondenomination specific nature of religious beliefs. A multi‐methods approach of means comparisons, logit analyses, and exact logistical regression indicates that when a foreign policy is framed in religious terms, providentiality is a significant predictor of support, even in the face of countervailing political beliefs. These findings highlight one mechanism through which religion can influence foreign policy attitudes, thereby demonstrating the value of further investigating the role of religious beliefs in politics.

Evangelical Environmentalists? Evidence from Brazil

“…One insight from the focus groups and survey experiment is that scientific teachings and this‐worldly action can be framed as contributing to, rather than subtracting from, religious teachings and modes of action. In contexts where science and religion are seen to jointly explain social problems, our priming experiment confirms the power of providential cues (Glazier 2013, 2015)—in this case to encourage religious conservatives’ support for this‐worldly solutions to environmental problems. This finding merits further investigation within other evangelical communities outside of the Global North.…”

Bridging Religion and Politics: The Impact of Providential Religious Beliefs on Political Activity

“…Additionally, recent scholarship demonstrates that individual's religious beliefs can influence their political behavior: from foreign policy attitudes (Djupe and Calfano 2013;Glazier 2013) to charitable giving (Lunn, Klay, and Douglass 2001) to opinions on the role of government (Baylor 2011). …”

“…Religion influences political activity in a variety of ways — from the impact of religious tradition on vote choice (Layman 2001; Guth et al 2006) to the correlation between church attendance and civic skills (Verba and Nie 1972; Jones-Correa and Leal 2001; Lasswell 1936, Verba, Schlozman, and Brady 1995). Additionally, recent scholarship demonstrates that individual's religious beliefs can influence their political behavior: from foreign policy attitudes (Djupe and Calfano 2013; Glazier 2013) to charitable giving (Lunn, Klay, and Douglass 2001) to opinions on the role of government (Baylor 2011).…”

Acting for God? Types and Motivations of Clergy Political Activity

“…The LRCS provides a few important variables that are not available in the CCS. First, the LRCS survey included two questions to measure providential religious beliefs—or the belief that God has a plan that people can help bring about (Glazier 2013; 2017). Providential religious believers are more likely to engage in political activity, under certain circumstances (Glazier 2015) and providential clergy may be more likely to undertake some political actions.…”