Abstract
A survey of public media reporting revealed that in the November 2016 election of Donald J. Trump as US president, self-professed religious evangelical voters were his most cohesive group of supporters. The findings indicate that the resurgence in American conservative populism includes strong associations with religious community self-identifications. Sectarian dogma has been prominent as a source of ideological expression for this movement. The articulators of these doctrines include clergy who constitute the societal leadership of these national and sectarian community co-identifiers. The study’s results find that this global trend is a reflection of the continuing development of popular political participation defining modernity. Mass political participation manifests itself in support for leaders who express the values of the mass public, which are likely to include nationalism. Sectarianism associates with community self-identity among core segments of the mass public, who tend to equate national and sectarian identity as coterminous. Cognitive psychological tendencies promote perception of the social environment in ways most suitable for avoiding a disturbing dissonance between national and sectarian self-identity. In conclusion, it results in the de facto equation of active membership in the predominant sectarian community with active promotion of the well-being of the national community, including the acquisition and maintenance of its sovereignty. Secular co-nationals are prone to reject such an equation, contributing to a conflictual political dynamic between these two societal segments as they seek control of the state. These groups are prone to view each other with intense distaste, contributing to polity polarization.
Presenters
Benedict Edward DeDominicisProfessor of Political Science, School of International Studies, Catholic University of Korea, Gyeonggido [Kyonggi-do], South Korea
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
2020 Special Focus—Globalization and Social Movements: Familiar Patterns, New Constellations?
KEYWORDS
Nationalism, Sectarianism, Polarization, Globalization, Cold War, Populism, Secularism, Competitive Interference
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