In Dr. Joseph Wellman’s latest research, which was accepted at the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, he and colleagues examine the question “Is LGBT progress seen as an attack on Christians?”. As social policies have changed to grant more equal rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, some Christians in the U.S. have suggested that it has impeded their religious freedom. Across five studies, the paper examined the causes and consequences of zero-sum beliefs (ZSBs; the belief that progress for one group comes at a direct cost to another group) about Christians and LGBT individuals. The article demonstrates that Christians’ ZSBs are associated with increased perceived threats to religious freedom and negative attitudes towards LGBT individuals. Christians’ beliefs about conflict with LGBT individuals were found to be shaped by their understandings of Christian values, social change, interpretation of the Bible, and in response to religious institutions. The implications of Christian/LGBT ZSBs for religious freedom legislation, attitudes toward sexual minorities, and intergroup conflict more generally are discussed in the article.
A preprint of the article is available at the link below. Preprint Link: https://psyarxiv.com/hc46b/ Wilkins, C. L., Wellman, J. D., Toosi, N. R., Miller, C. A., Lisnek, J. A., & Martin, L. A. (in Press). Are LGBT rights seen as an attack on Christians? Examining religion/ sexual orientation zero-sum beliefs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology DOI:10.1037/pspi0000363
