Identity Negotiation Strategies Among Progressive Christians Open Access
Alexander, Katalia (Spring 2022)
Published
Abstract
Background. Public perceptions of American Christians suggest that all Christians are conservative, creating identity discrepancy for Christians who identity as politically liberal. Identity theory suggests several possible identity negotiation strategies in such situations to resolve this discrepancy and achieve identity verification.
Methods. In this study, I utilize a mixed methods approach to identify the liberal Christian population in the United States, learn about their identity experiences, and examine the factors mediating their choice of identity negotiation strategy. The first phase uses data from the 2018 General Social Survey (N=2,344) to identify the significant demographic characteristics of politically liberal Christians via chi squared tests. Religious identity, political preference, and demographic characteristics were all self-reported by study participants. For Study 2, I conduct in-depth interviews with 15 individuals who identify as both politically liberal and Christian to understand their experiences and the identity negotiation strategies they employed.
Results. Study 1 finds that people who are non-white, highly educated, either under 24 or over 65, and with a Christian spouse (if married) are most likely to be both liberal and Christian. 365 GSS respondents (15.6%) identified as both liberal and Christian. Study 2 provided examples of identity discrepancy experiences that politically liberal Christians faced and offered insight into the ways individuals saw their faith and their politics as intertwined but also at times in conflict.
Discussion. The paper highlights ways in which respondents in a nationally representative survey, and in a set of qualitative interviews conceptualize the intersection of these two identities. The analysis explores the impact of experiencing identity discrepancy and the availability of mutual verification spaces on identity prominence. The results extend existing research by applying identity theory to a specific population of individuals with identities that are seen by many as incongruent.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Literature Review 1
Christianity and Political Conservatism 1
Identity Management Among Politically Progressive Christians 7
Understanding Factors That Influence Identity Management 10
Historical Involvement of Christians in Liberal Social Movements 14
Research Design 18
Expectations 18
Study 1: Identifying Characteristics of the Liberal Christian Population in the United States 20
Methods 20
Results 21
Discussion 26
Study 2: Qualitative Interviews with Liberal Christians About Identity Experiences 28
Methods 28
Sample 28
Data Collection Method & Measures 31
Analysis 32
Results 34
Interview Sample 34
Commentary on Bimodal Age Distribution of Liberal Christians 37
Challenges Identifying as Liberal and Christian 39
Disconfirmation Experiences 44
Mutual Verification Spaces 50
Queer Christianity and Affirming Churches 52
Emotional Attachment and Prioritized Identity 55
Intertwined Identities 57
Reconciling Incongruent Identities 60
Discussion 61
Limitations 64
Future Research Directions 66
References 68
Appendices 74
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