Research reveals Christian words associated with prejudice

Christian symbolic art

Carol Forsloff - While Christians speak of the importance of love, and cite the Bible and Jesus' words as references, a  study conducted by Baylor University  found a few years ago that those who are given Christian religious words in writing or conversation are more likely to express racial prejudice and negative views toward African Americans.

It is not uncommon for Christian words to be sprinkled on social media and in everyday discourse, so the research heightens awareness of how people might behind religion, using it as a defense as opposed to an instruction on how to interact with others.

Dr. Wade Rowatt, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor who led the study, looked at the results of the study which appeared in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science and said, "It could be that priming religious words activates cognitive representation of things like right-wing authoritism and a Protestant work ethic."

While politicians and researchers tell us that most Americans consider themselves Christian, the fact that Christian words are associated with certain prejudices might be considered particularly alarming in the wake of racial strife.  Research that outlines how words impact behavior offers us a glimpse of ourselves and how we really think when it comes to loving one another and whether or not that love encompasses African Americans.

Recent events, from the Ferguson, Missouri incident involving the shooting of an unarmed African American man by a white police officer offered a storm of controversy, and resulting riots.  It also revealed a division between white and black folks in terms of how they viewed the incident, with more whites identifying with the police and more African Americans siding with the African American family.  This division was heightened when an additional incident in New York of the beating of an unarmed African American man was also reported.

Given the fact that Americans use Christian words to explain how they feel about one another, further research might also identify how many of these people, following incidents like the recent issues regarding race have developed.

In addition, the response to Muslims following 9/11 was often negative, and statistics have shown that people are more fearful of them since that time, with a resultant increase in negativity, including insults and even the burning or defacing of mosques.

Again these incidents might also be explored in the light of those who identify with Christianity and how often they use Christian words or quotations to defend their actions.

While race and religion are often the areas of strife throughout modern history, learning how people speak and how verbal abuse can actually increase violence can be useful in teaching people that it is not what they say alone that is important, but the honesty of the beliefs they have in terms of how they are integrated into appropriate behaviors.

This type of scientific research allows people to see the uses of objective material in improving social behavior, including identifying for Christians where they might reflect on the language they use in speech and in writing specific to racial and religious groups.