In this dissertation, I assess the role of religious commitment in how individuals see the political information environment, learn about politics, and construct political opinions. While religiosity is an enormously complex concept, I argue that—at a fundamental level—people learn how to maintain religious beliefs in the face of potentially-hostile forces. These skills in belief-maintenance are then applied to politics, as religious individuals become adept at viewing the political world through a religious lens—incorporating information that supports their beliefs while rejecting or ignoring other types of information. This process will have an enormous effect on the type of political knowledge religious individuals possess, how they see objective and subjective political events, and how they react to elite cues. I argue that the role of religion in information acquisition will further play a vital part in democratic citizenship, namely in how individuals participate in politics. I examine these questions through a number of methods—using both experimental and cross-sectional data—and conclude that religion invokes a fundamental trade off in political participation. Rather than being an unambiguous democratic good or negative, religiosity's effect on political participation is complex and conditional. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Political Science in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2011. / Date of Defense: June 15, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references. / Jason Barabas, Professor Directing Dissertation; Laura Arpan, University Representative; Jennifer Jerit, Committee Member; Robert Jackson, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_168218 |
| Contributors | Gaskins, Benjamin (authoraut), Barabas, Jason (professor directing dissertation), Arpan, Laura (university representative), Jerit, Jennifer (committee member), Jackson, Robert (committee member), Department of Political Science (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
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