Christian nationalism, religious struggles, and the structural amplification of emotional distress

Abstract

Objective: Although studies have linked Christian nationalist beliefs with greater emotional distress, little is known about the potential underlying mechanisms or subgroup variations. Informed by the strain-struggles-distress model and the concept of structural amplification, we tested whether religious/spiritual (R/S) struggles mediate and moderate the association between Christian nationalist beliefs and emotional distress. Methods: Regression models were conducted on national survey data collected in 2021 (n = 1704). Results: Results suggested that respondents who reported stronger Christian nationalist beliefs also tended to report higher levels of R/S struggles, anger, and psychological distress. Mediation analyses revealed significant indirect effects of Christian nationalist beliefs on emotional distress through R/S struggles. Moderation analyses also indicated that the effects of Christian nationalist beliefs on emotional distress were amplified at higher levels of R/S struggles. Conclusion: In support of the strain-struggles-distress and structural amplification models, we find that the adverse emotional impacts Christian nationalism are explained and intensified by the cognitive vulnerabilities of R/S struggles.