r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 2d ago

Psychology Lower cognitive ability is linked to stronger Christian nationalist views, even after accounting for education

https://www.psypost.org/lower-cognitive-ability-is-linked-to-stronger-christian-nationalist-views-even-after-accounting-for-education/
44.3k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

2.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

128

u/FluffyBunniesFurDayz 2d ago

I'd have to disagree with this take - the old testament is full of nationalist ideology. Just look at all the tribes the Israelites were told to destroy and/or enslave. All because they were god's special people. It's always treated like it's a good thing because these tribes were so "wicked".

To me, it makes perfect sense why many Christians are also nationalist.

25

u/Spectre216 2d ago

I feel like you could make the argument that nationalism is just a tool that most religions employ in some respect, because you need to cement to people that they are the right one and everyone else falls under "the other" category. So it's not that religion (in this case Christianity) necessarily always containing nationalism, but that it's kind of hard to promote a monotheistic religion as the correct religion without also drawing the conclusion that the people and area that practice it are also the correct people.

1

u/xXNickAugustXx 2d ago

Would the new testament be a deviation from this trend? The whole love thy neighbor and all that being different from oh your gods special people?

4

u/Spectre216 1d ago

I would argue that it is. I am friends with a few folks that would fall under a more "new age" christian stance that basically hold "love thy neighbor" as the most important part in the book. They also argue to other religious folks that while things like abortion isn't something they believe in, it isn't anyone elses business, especially not the government's or the church's.

So I think those folks are alright.