Religion, Religiosity, Sex, and Willingness to Express Political Opinions: A Spiral of Silence Analysis of the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election

Abstract

This study analyzes the extent to which an individual's sex, religion, and religiosity influence their willingness to voice an opinion about Barack Obama's ethnicity in the 2008 election. Results from 569 college students surveyed reveal sex to be a nonsignificant predictor, whereas religion and religiosity significantly influence willingness to voice an opinion about Obama's ethnicity. More religious individuals were more likely to voice an opinion about Obama's ethnicity as a voting issue in the campaign. There were significant differences among religious groups and their willingness to voice an opinion on this issue.

Notes

¹ The term sex is used in this article to refer to what some researchers may refer to as gender because “sex is a designation based on biology, while gender is socially and psychologically constructed” (Wood, 1997, p. 23).

² Based on religious doctrine/histories, the participants in this study were grouped into the following categories: Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic, non-religious or secular, Other Christian (including Mormon, non-Denominational Christian, Evangelical, and Christian Fundamentalists), and Mainline Protestants (including Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans). Religion was a self-identified variable in the study. As members of the Baptist, Methodist, and Lutheran churches share more in common than they do with Catholics religiously, the three groups were grouped together as “Mainline Protestants.” “Other Christians” were grouped together because these individuals did not identify themselves as part of a recognized “Mainline Protestant” Christian church, but as what is recognized as a more Evangelical or Fundamentalist non-Catholic Christian church. This kind of grouping has been done before in communication research (Buddenbaum, 1996; Buddenbaum & Stout, 1996).

³ It is acceptable to conduct post hoc statistical analyses to confirm and or test arguments, especially when results are unexpected (DeMaris, 2007). In this, case the independent samples t test is used to demonstrate the level of similarity/difference between the sexes on willingness to voice an opinion about Obama's ethnicity in the 2008 election.