Enemy of My Enemy? An Examination of Potential Religious Group Threat Effects on Racial Attitudes

Group threat theories postulate that when majority group members feel threatened by minority racial groups, they develop prejudice. However, it is possible that feeling threatened by those perceived as outgroups of racial minorities can lead to support for racial minorities. The threat offered by conservative Christians to progressives can lead those progressives to become more supportive of racial minorities, perceiving those minorities as allies. Data from the 2021 Baylor Religion Survey examined the predictive power of feeling threatened by Republicans, African Americans, conservative Christians, Muslims, atheists, and Buddhists on progressive racial attitudes. After basic social and demographic controls, feeling threatened by conservative Christians and political conservatives was associated with higher support for progressive racialized attitudes, while feeling threatened by Muslims and blacks was associated with lower support for progressive racial attitudes. This research extends theories about group threat theory by focusing on the symbolic threat tied to our current culture war.