When politicians use religious rhetoric it doesn’t appeal to everyone – even among the religious

The use of religious references and rhetoric in political campaigns is nothing new – but is it actually effective in making certain candidates more appealing to voters? In new research Jay T. Jennings finds that candidates’ religious rhetoric has different effects on voters, depending on their religious motivation. He writes that those who use religion to define themselves or see it as filling a social need tend to be receptive or indifferent to candidates’ religious rhetoric, while those who see religion in less black and white terms may end up with a lower evaluation of the candidate.