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Liberalism Among Black Christian Conservatives

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Liberalism Among Black Christian Conservatives BLINDED BY THE RIGHT: LIBERALISM AMONG BLACK CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVES _________________________________________________________________ A Dissertation Submitted To the Temple University Graduate Board _________________________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy _________________________________________________________________ by Aubrey J. Hilbert August 2013 Examining Committee Members: Dr. Eugene Ericksen, Advisory Chair, Sociology, Emeritus Dr. Matthew Wray, Sociology Dr. Kevin Arceneaux, Political Science Dr. Robin Kolodny, Political Science © Copyright 2013 by Aubrey J. Hilbert All Rights Reserved ii ABSTRACT In 2012, President Barack Obama was elected to a second term amidst concerns that his support of same-sex marriage would deter conservative African American voters. Rather, for the first time on record, the share of Black voters surpassed the share of White voters in the general electorate (File 2012). This seemingly paradoxical relationship, for conservative Black voters to support Obama while denouncing gay marriage, has yet to lead to any serious scholarly investigation. Instead, past research on religion and party alignment has focused primarily on the White Christian Right. Political sociologists, therefore, possess a better understanding of the correlation between White Christian conservatism and political conservatism. Meanwhile, not only are explorations into how Christian conservatism affects Black voter alignment scarce, but also, these investigations rarely isolate Black Christian conservatives from the general Black electorate. The current political climate complicates the relationship between race, religion, and politics considerably. The election of Barack Obama has symbolized to some that the American electorate exists within a post-racial environment. Accusations to the contrary have focused on supporters of the Tea Party, a movement that formed on the premise of anti-government interventionism. This highly conservative coalition has dictated the Republican Party’s shift to the right, much like the “Moral Majority” in decades past. Similar to its religious predecessor, the Tea Party advocates conservative stances on abortion and gay rights. However, just as the White Christian Right consists almost entirely of White members, so too does the Tea Party. iii The current study examines Black Christian conservatives’ political decision- making. The focus of this research is on Black Christian conservatives. However, in order to explain the environment in which Black voters must operate, I also study White Christian conservatives’ political motivations. Thus, I ask, what motivates Black Christian conservatives to align with the Democratic Party despite their conservative political and religious ideologies? I explore three well-known explanations for why Black conservative voters may align with Democrats over Republicans. The first is redistributive policy support, which considers the longstanding espousal of fiscal liberalism among Black voters. Next, racial resentment investigates whether conservative Whites are antagonistic to Black voters’ concerns. Finally, religious philosophy examines how Black Christian conservatives apply their religion to their political viewpoints. Each analysis chapter employs data that can directly address the following questions. First, how does Christian conservatism affect White and Black voters’ support for various government initiatives? Second, does racial resentment contribute more to Whites’ support of the Tea Party, or rather, does that support stem from fiscal and/or Christian conservatism? Finally, given that roughly 90 percent of the Black electorate aligns with the Democratic Party, how do Black Christian conservatives explain their conservatism on gay marriage and abortion alongside their Democratic alignment? To answer these questions, I employed a mixed-methodology consisting of: (1) datasets collected by the American National Elections Survey and the New York Times and CBS News; (2) a content analysis examining Black Christian conservative responses to an opinion editorial featured on four Christian websites and (3) ten in-depth interviews iv conducted with Black Christian voters. My findings show support for all three explanations. First, I find that Biblical literalism is problematic, since White and Black Christian conservatives diverge on a number of religious issues. While White Christian conservatives place an emphasis on abortion and homosexuality, I find that Black Christian conservatives possess greater concern for economic and racial issues. The White framework in which most scholars operate restricts the religious-political issues to family values. Therefore, when Black Christian conservatives consider poverty and racism as their biggest political issues, many miss the religious weight attached to their liberal stances. In other words, while Christian conservatism has a conservatizing effect on Whites’ economic and racial views, it has a liberalizing effect for Blacks. Therefore, to frame Black Christian conservatives’ Democratic allegiance as paradoxical misses that political and religious ideologies are contextualized through a White lens. Second, my findings show that the American electorate is still entrenched in racial politics. Whites who exhibit greater racial resentment are more likely to support either the Republican Party or the Tea Party. Moreover, racial resentment is the strongest predictor of White opposition to racial policies, demonstrating that an overall fiscal conservative ideology has very little to do with these stances. I argue that this hostile environment continues to block any hope for political alliance between Black and White Christian conservatives. Third, Black Christian conservatives, while often skeptical of welfare programs, still view redistributive policies in a positive light. Their greater support for economic redistribution is interwoven with a shared history of racial discrimination. Even those v among the upper-middle class whom I interviewed had a greater appreciation for government services that helped the unfortunate. Their close proximity to poverty affected this outlook. In fact, all of my interviewees had either received government benefits personally or knew a family member who had. The implications of this research reveal the ramifications of the GOP’s fiscal and racial conservatism. By completely ignoring economic concerns, or failing to address the long-standing effects of racial discrimination, Republicans have attracted racially intolerant Whites and pushed away nearly all Black voters. Black Christian conservatives view homosexuality and abortion as sins that are no greater than greed. Due to the economic circumstances of Black voters, it is often the case that economic issues are discussed more frequently than are abortion or homosexuality. Furthermore, Black Christian non-conservatives are much more supportive of gay marriage and abortion than their Christian conservative counterparts are. Therefore, conservative family values will do little to attract Black voters to the Republican Party. To make matters worse, the Tea Party’s political prowess during the 2010 midterms pushed the Republican Party far to the right on particular fiscal issues. While opposing social programs that largely affected the poor and racial minorities, the Tea Party sought to appease its base by protecting Medicare. The Republican Party has effectively disapproved of programs benefitting the less fortunate by applying fiscal conservatism only to segments of the population deemed undeserving. In addition, the Tea Party attracts Whites who have high levels of racial resentment regardless of their political ideologies. Indeed, politically liberal and moderate Whites in the Tea Party were even more likely than White conservatives to be vi motivated by racial resentment. If any Republican effort to attract Black conservatives were to succeed, it would mean diminishing the Tea Party’s political power. Anything less than this will convey the GOP’s endorsement of a faction deeply entrenched in White interests. vii DEDICATION To Professors Frank Clemente, Samar Farage, and Sal Oropesa whose love for Sociology is contagious. viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Although I locked myself away in social isolation for the better half of 2013, I was lucky enough to have a supportive network “on the outside.” Without sounding too much like a poorly conceived acceptance speech, I would like to spend a few pages articulating my gratitude here. First and foremost, I owe an incredible debt of gratitude to my dissertation advisor and mentor, Professor Gene Ericksen. Throughout the years he has provided me with invaluable guidance and has helped me past seemingly insurmountable obstacles. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Professors Matt Wray and Kevin Arceneaux. Without their direction, this dissertation would be a collection of scattered ideas laid out across several pages of paper. I would also like to thank Professor Robin Kolodony for her contribution as the outside reader during the summer “vacation” months. I am also grateful for my many undergraduate and graduate professors throughout my without whom I would lack the skills, expertise, and motivation to carry out a project of this scope. To my colleagues who understood what I was going through at a deeper level than anyone else, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. To my cohort companions
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