{
  "id": 11163431,
  "title": "Lower cognitive ability is linked to stronger Christian nationalist views, even after accounting for education",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/lower-cognitive-ability-is-linked-to-stronger-christian-nationalist",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-01T10:00:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PsyPost",
    "slug": "psypost",
    "url": "https://www.psypost.org/lower-cognitive-ability-is-linked-to-stronger-christian-nationalist-views-even-after-accounting-for-education/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new study reveals that individuals with lower cognitive ability tend to hold stronger Christian nationalist beliefs, even after considering their level of education. Researchers led by Samuel L. Perry, a sociologist at the University of Oklahoma, found this correlation in data from the General Social Survey. The study, published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, examined how vocabulary test scores, a measure of cognitive ability, correlated with Christian nationalist views. These views include beliefs about the United States having Christian foundations and advocating for Christian dominance in society. Despite accounting for education, religious affiliation, fundamentalist beliefs, and political ideology, lower vocabulary scores were consistently linked to less support for Christian nationalist ideologies. This suggests that cognitive resources, beyond education, may influence political and religious beliefs.",
  "summary": "A recent study indicates that Americans with lower cognitive ability scores tend to be more likely to embrace Christian nationalism. The findings suggest the ideology’s appeal is linked to underlying cognitive resources rather than just educational differences.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}