Essay on System Justification Theory

Women are generally more religious than men (as measured by factors such as attendance of religious services and commitment to religion); however, religious women do not participate at the same civic level as men (Audette et al. 2018, Cassese and Holman 2016, Rinehart and Perkins 1989). This discrepancy indicates that religion might impact political mobilization differently in men than in women. This paper explores the effects of biblical literalism and how the beliefs of, and preferences for, traditional gender roles strongly aligns with the values found in political conservatism and how these beliefs influence political participation in the United States.

In general, commitment to conservative Christian religions tends to produce conservative attitudes and behaviors (Wald and Calhoun-Brown 2011). The intersectionality between gender, religiosity, and voting behavior often pushes religion “as an internal microlevel source of attitude constraint and structuring” (Rinehart and Perkins 1989, p. 34). This conservative belief system has the unique potential to uphold its traditional institutions while simultaneously reinforcing traditional gender roles.

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Biblical literalism is defined as the belief that the Bible is the actual word of God and should be understood literally, word for word. The most conservative Protestant religious traditions (evangelicals, fundamentalists, and Pentecostals) generally subscribe to a literalist ideology (Cassese and Holman 2016). Evangelicalism is defined as a movement within Protestantism which upholds the centrality of the “born again” conversion experience, belief that the Gospel contains the doctrine of salvation by grace alone through the faith in Jesus’s atonement and death on the cross, and in proselytizing the Christian message (Stanley 2018).

In the 1920s, an individualistic social ethos supplanted most evangelicals’ commitments to social reform. This “Great Reversal” pushed back against the modernization of American culture, rejected modern theology, and pursued a more literal Biblical doctrine that espoused traditional roles of the church within society. Fundamentalism is generally seen as a movement within a broader group of Protestant religions (especially with Baptists and Presbyterians).

Pentecostalism is categorized as an evangelical faith that emphasizes the inerrancy of the Bible. Pentecostal Christians generally believe in the individualistic need to transform one’s life through faith in Jesus, personal conversion or being “born again,” baptism, and the belief in Jesus’s Second Coming.

Scholars argue whether these terms are synonymous, but for this paper, evangelical will be used as an “umbrella term” for Pentecostal, fundamentalism, and evangelicalism as they were all conservative responses to the liberal Protestantism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with the central belief in Biblical inerrancy (Menzies 2007, Olson 2004).

Evangelicals have maintained about a 25 percent share in the US population. Additionally, White parishioners are more likely to assume a literalist view of the Bible, and of those, women are more so (Hoffman and Bartkowski 2008). The most faithful Republican evangelicals have been the white evangelical—of whom 81 percent voted for Trump in 2016 (Wong 2018). Using these assumptions, we can trace how religion and gender influence political participation in the United States (Cassese and Holman 2016, Hoffman and Bartkowski 2008).

The role of religious institutions provides its followers with civic skills and generally establishes a strong organizational infrastructure that promotes moral engagement with politics. “The Christian Right embraced electoral activity as a means to change public policy at the national level” (Wald and Calhoun-Brown 2011, p. 222). As a result, Christians have been encouraged from the pulpit to increase their political participation through voting, organizing, and campaigning (Cassese and Holman 2016, Wald et al. 1988).

However, scholars determined that religious women and men react differently regarding political participation within a religious context. These beliefs have disparate effects on their acceptance of traditional gender roles and orientations, and these reactions influence their orientations on political participation (Bartkowski and Hempel 2009, Bartkowski 2001, Djupe et al. 2007). Therefore, one can deduce that the gendered effects of religiosity on participation are probably not static. And even though gender and political participation are fundamental identities shaping American political behavior, the interactive effects between the two are under-researched in political science.

Churches are one of the most profound influences on gender ideologies, in combination with a parishioner’s integration into the religious networks and internalization of theological views (Putnam and Campbell 2010). Biblical literalism frequently promotes specific messages on gender and authority within the church. These messages may influence perceptions of discrimination and group ties within women parishioners’ gender consciousness.

System justification theory proposes that groups tend to rationalize the interests of the group and defend existing social, economic, and political arrangements as part of the status quo, even at what might be the expense of an individual and collective self-interest (Jost and Major 2001, Jost and Banaji 1994). Differences in gendered approaches to literalism may suggest a compensatory mechanism offsetting women’s exclusions from positions of authority in a male-dominated religious organization (Cassese and Holman 2016). Utilizing this theory, gender norms and inequality can be legitimized through the use of biblical literalism, which reinforces religious doctrines of traditional, patriarchal family structures. Therefore, system justification theory might be a possible explanation for reduced political mobilization. Research shows that a majority of churches practicing biblical literalism are highly likely to serve as “echo chambers” for political views and these views are then solidified through social networks, which leads to higher levels of Republican partisanship among fellow parishioners (Deckman 2014, Putnam and Campbell 2010).

Within the Christian tradition, one particular focus from a set of system justification beliefs is the individual’s view toward the Bible. This is evident particularly in literalism, or the belief that the Bible is the actual and inerrant word of God. Researchers have found that biblical literalism is the foundation for political and social attitudes and behaviors (Cassese 2019, Cassese and Holman 2016, Hoffman and Johnson 2005, Holman and Podrazik 2018). Parishioners may use biblical literalism as the “core interpretive framework” (Hoffman and Bartkowski 2008, p.1246) for how to view their world. Religious beliefs, as framed in biblical literalism, generally show a decrease in political participation among women due to its effect on women accepting traditional gender roles and relations and by influencing their gender consciousness within their group.

Gender theorists have argued that power is a group relation which entails domination and resistance (Connell 2002, Hoffman and Bartkowski 2008). Theorists also recognize that power can be exercised through institutionalized mechanisms (e.g., the church and its formal rules for codes of conduct and among and between gendered groups), as well as through discursive means of textual use, traditional family conventions, and congregational pressures. Biblical policies institutionalizing the roles for men and women may be distant (as from the policies themselves) or subjective as in the distinction of how one should think and act regarding their identity (Connell 2002). Understandably, researchers might infer that gender-based messages conveyed in religious settings are responsible for women’s political demobilization (Jost and Banaji 1994).

Additionally, religious doctrine in the Judeo-Christian denominations overwhelmingly synonymizes authority with masculinity—both human and divine (Avishai 2016, Whitehead 2012). Conservative Protestant groups (particularly evangelical Christians) usually maintain traditional gender roles for men and women. Specific religious tropes idealize the traditional woman’s role while simultaneously gendering masculine beliefs about authority. Those parishioners who view God as “He” with masculine characteristics tend to sanction conservative political views and traditional gender roles (Cassese and Holman 2016, Whitehead 2012).

Masculine images of God and the parallel gendered notion of authority normatively lead to beliefs about male dominance and traditional gender roles as a normal part of human social relations (Cassese and Holman 2017, Whitehead 2012). The conservatizing effects of these developments on both men and women may play a significant role in political campaigns and voting behavior. Research has shown that areas with high concentrations of politically active, conservative evangelicals tend to be inversely proportionate to the number of women in state legislatures. This might suggest that those who believe in traditional gender roles tend to favor male candidates and leadership (Cassese and Holman 2017, Merolla et al. 2007).

Adherence to gender roles is generally associated with biblical literalism. System justification theory and religiously based gender identity theories can be used to develop the system for which beliefs about biblical literalism and gender influence female parishioners’ political behaviors. Additionally, the multifaceted social constructs of gender and identity may encourage women to perceive shared group-based discrimination and linked fate with other group members. However, biblical literalism encourages female parishioners to accept status quo traditional gender and family roles and may decrease political participation within conservative churches that follow a literalist approach when interpreting the Bible.

While the relationship between religiosity and biblical literalism and gender consciousness has not been researched, there are reasons why literalism might provide the foundation for normalizing gender inequality within Protestant churches. The messages received from the pulpit about gender and authority include a numerous masculine images of God as the Father including a specific focus with Jesus as the male representative of God on Earth (Cassese and Holman 2017, Cassese and Holman 2016, Whitehead 2012). Since women are more likely to maintain a literalist view of the Bible, it is inferred that they will also accept these masculine and dominant images of male authority.

System justification theory suggests that women who espouse traditionally conservative and religious values (specifically biblical literalism) tend to experience ambivalent feelings toward other women in their “ingroup” (Cassese and Holman 2016). It suggests that, given the intersection of system justification theory and biblical literalism, theologically conservative female parishioners might hold a lesser perception of gender consciousness than do women with more liberal religious traditions.

Using data from the 2018 American National Election Study (ANES) dataset, I will evaluate the following hypotheses:

• biblical literalism is associated with lower levels of gender consciousness, as measured by perceptions of discrimination and strength of ties to women as a group
• reductions in religious and gender identities account for lower political participation among women.

I believe the results will clarify how conservative institutions, beliefs, and gender identities interact to influence our political behavior. It is also important to highlight the differences between the characteristics of belief and belonging found within the institutions of religion to draw correlations to political behavior.

An ordinary least squares regression model will include religious and demographic controls (race, gender, and type of Christianity) to determine whether there still exists a connection between literalism and beliefs about gender and whether those results are robust and not simply associated with other systematic differences between women (and men) who endorse different views on the Bible in the 2019 dataset. Ideas regarding gender discrimination and political participation are the dependent variables and biblical literalism is the independent variable.

I believe the results will clarify how conservative institutions, beliefs, and gender identities interact to influence women’s political behavior. It is also important to highlight the differences between the characteristics of belief and belonging found within the institutions of religion to draw correlations to political behavior. A majority of white, conservative and traditionally religious women voters have consistently voted Republican since the 1970s (Cassese 2019). Understanding what factors promote White evangelical women to identify as Republican, might lead to understanding what factors inhibit the same political ideology in female evangelicals of color. It will also be helpful to understand how religious identities work in tandem with gender and race to influence political behavior and participation (although, that will be in future papers).

The findings of this paper might provide insight into ways identities intersect with political mobilization among women and how these intersections influence political behavior. The findings might also have implications for those in the conservative party who wish to increase female participation in American politics, as well as for religious organizations that wish to increase its parishioners’ turnout in the voting booth. Additionally, gendered notions of authority often influence political identities and sociopolitical attitudes with a “conservatizing” effect for men and women. This research is relevant in recent elections, as well as the upcoming election concerning the continuing rhetoric of the Republican “War on Women.”