2023/11/06 by Brandon M. Brown, Kevin D. Dougherty, Jeremy E. Uecker +2 · 7 citations
Social Sciences · #Closeness #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Faith #Gender studies #Identity (music) #Law #Philosophy #Political science #Politics #Protestantism #Religion and Society Interactions #Religiosity #Religious identity #Religious studies #Social Media and Politics #Sociology #Theology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/jssr.12891
published in Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 63(1), 117-136 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2023/11/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Abstract College is a setting and time of profound change in the lives of emerging adults. This change can include shifts in identity related to politics and religion. Given widespread attention to the alignment of religious people with conservative politics and less religious people with liberal politics (i.e., the “God Gap”), we ask: do college students who become politically liberal lose their religion in the process? Using longitudinal panel data, this study examines changes in political identity and religiosity among students at a Protestant university. Findings reveal changes in students’ politics align with changes in public and private religious behaviors, certainty in belief, agreement with core tenets of the Christian faith, faith maturity, and closeness to God. Whereas students who become more politically conservative increase their religiosity, the inverse is true for those whose politics become more liberal in college.