The Politics of Religion

The Politics of Religion: Examining Christianity and Politics in the US' is a six-year qualitative study (2020-2026) led by Dr Katie Gaddini. The US serves as an important case study to provide a deeper understanding of how religion shapes politics, which has ramifications for future research examining this intersection globally. The Politics of Religion builds on Dr Gaddini's previous research with white evangelicals during the 2016 US presidential elections. That research examined the interpenetration of religious identity and political beliefs through qualitative interviews and identified the key issues driving support for Donald Trump. The Politics of Religion extends from this project to elucidate how religious beliefs attach to political ones, and if these key issues (e.g. immigration) continue to drive white evangelicals' political choices. Using an innovative multi-method, multi-phase qualitative design - involving digital research methods, ethnography, and visual analysis - the project will interrogate how Christianity conditions evangelical support for political issues, figures, and policies in the US today.

This research is supported by the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust, The Social Science Research Council, University College London, and the UK Research & Innovation office. Research assistance was provided by Dr. Catherine Tebaldi, Riza Mirza and Alex Wong.

Katie Gaddini is co-organizer of the Christianity and Politics Across the Americas Network alongside Prof Joanildo Burity and Dr Isabel Castillo.

Photo from our inaugural three-day, international conference in Santiago, Chile (May 2022).