Prri apsa 2013 v4 rpj

Public
Religion
Research
Institute
Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO
Daniel Cox, Director of Research
Juhem Navarro-Rivera, Research Associate
THREATS AND VALUES: FACTORS
INFLUENCING SUPPORT FOR A PATH TO
CITIZENSHIP
How Economic Threat, Cultural Threat, Social Contact,
and Religiosity Influence Support for a Path to
Citizenship

Context: Immigration Debate in the United
States
• Major issue in 2012 campaign.
• Two racial/ethnic groups with large numbers of immigrants overwhelmingly
supported Barack Obama over Mitt Romney.
• Hispanic American vote: 71% Obama; 27% Romney
• Asian American vote: 73% Obama; 26% Romney
• Major policy issue of 2013. Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill
introduced by a bipartisan group of senators:
• Includes a path to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally;
• Pending debated in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• Strong involvement of two religious groups: Catholics and white
evangelical Protestants.
• Religious messaging heavily focused on “welcoming the stranger.”
• Data in this presentation comes from the PRRI/Brookings’ Religion,
Values, and Immigration Reform Survey, March 2013 (N=4,465).
PRRI/Brookings, Religion, Values, and Immigration Reform Survey, March 2013 (N=4,465) 2

Dependent Variable:
Support for Path to Citizenship
63
14
21
2
Which statement comes closest to your view about how the
immigration system should deal with immigrants who are currently
living in the U.S. illegally?
Allow them a way to become
citizens provided they meet certain
requirements
Allow them to become permanent
legal residents, but not citizens
Identify and deport them
None of these/Don't
know/Refused

White Evangelicals and White Catholics
74
71
70
67
64
63
62
61
56
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Hispanic Catholic
Hispanic Protestant
Black Protestant
Jewish
Unaffiliated
Mormon
White Catholic
White Mainline
White Evangelical
By Religious Affiliation

FACTORS INFLUENCING SUPPORT FOR
PATH TO CITIZENSHIP
1. Economic Threat
2. Cultural Threat
3. Social Contact
4. Religious Attendance
5. Welcoming the Stranger

Hypotheses
Hypothesis Relationship to Support
for Path to Citizenship
1. Economic Threat
Thinking that immigrants are taking jobs away from
American citizens
Negative
2. Culture Threat
Thinking that newcomers from other countries threaten
American values
Negative
3. Social Contact
Having a friend or family member born outside the U.S.
Positive
4. Religious Attendance
Attending religious services weekly or more
Positive
5. Religious Values
Believing that biblical message of “welcoming the
stranger” is an extremely important value
Positive

Economic Threat: Immigrants take jobs
away from American citizens
PRRI/Brookings, Religion, Values, and Immigration Reform Survey, March 2013
(N=4,465)
7
64
27
4
5
Immigrants coming to this country today mostly...
Take jobs Americans don't want
Take jobs away from American
citizens
Both
Don't know/Refused

by Perception of Economic Threat
(N=4,465)
8
34 32 34
68
61
70
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
All Americans White Evangelicals White Catholics
Immigrants coming to the country today mostly…
Take jobs away from Americans Take unwanted jobs

Cultural Threat: Newcomers from Other
Countries Threaten American Values
40
54
3 3
Growing Number of Newcomers from Other Countries…
Threatens traditional American
customs and values
Strenghten American society
Neither/Both equally
Don't know/Refused

by Perception of Cultural Threat
(N=4,465)
10
50
47
52
73
68
73
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Growing number of newcomers to the country...
Threatens American Values Strenghtens American society

Social Contact: Foreign-Born Close Friends
or Relatives
61
39
Do you have any close friends or relatives who were born
outside the U.S.?
Yes
No

by Social Contact
(N=4,465)
12
59
53
61
66
59
67
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Do you have any close friends or relatives who were born outside the
U.S.?
No Yes

By Religious Attendance
63
41
65
62
58
6564
58
66
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
By Religious Attendance
Seldom or never A few times a month/year Weekly or more

Welcoming the Stranger, Values as
Important Guides to Immigration Reform
50
52
69
77
77
82
84
84
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Following the biblical example of welcoming the stranger
Continuing America's heritage as a nation of immigrants
Following the Golden Rule, providing immigrants the same
opportunities I would want if my family was immigrating to the…
Enforcing the rule of law
Enuring fairness to taxpayers
Protecting the dignity of every person
Keeping families together
Promoting national security
Source: PRRI/Brookings, Religion, Values, and Immigration Reform Survey, March 2013 (N=4,465)
Values as Moral Guides to Immigration Reform
Extremely important Very important

Welcoming the Stranger
17
25
13
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Following the biblical example of welcoming the stranger as guide to
immigration policy
Percent saying Extremely Important

By Importance of “welcoming the stranger”
64
55
66
59
66
58
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Importance of biblical value of "welcoming the stranger" as guide to
immigration policy
Less Important Extremely Important

INFLUENCES ON SUPPORT FOR A PATH TO
CITIZENSHIP

Model #1: General Population with
Religious Attendance
Among General Population
Variable Coefficient Significance Odds Ratio
Hispanic 0.379 0.000 1.462
Tea Party -0.585 0.000 0.557
Democrat 0.296 0.000 1.345
Republican -0.366 0.000 0.693
College education 0.265 0.001 1.303
Millennial (18-33) 0.244 0.003 1.277
Senior (65+) 0.203 0.024 1.225
Attend weekly or more 0.161 0.037 1.174

Model #5: GP with Economic Threat,
Cultural Threat, and Social Contact
Among General Population
Hispanic 0.397 0.007 1.487
Tea Party -0.510 0.003 0.601
Democrat 0.298 0.007 1.348
Republican -0.278 0.024 0.757
Millennial (18-33) 0.265 0.026 1.303
Senior (65+) 0.362 0.006 1.436
Newcomers are a threat -0.875 0.000 0.417
Immigrants take U.S. jobs -0.936 0.000 0.392

Model #7: White Evangelicals with Economic Threat,
Cultural Threat, Social Contact, Attendance, Welcoming
Stranger
Among White Evangelicals
Millennial (18-33) .886 .014 2.425
Attend seldom or never -1.178 .009 .308
Newcomers are a threat -1.355 .000 .258
Immigrants take U.S. jobs -.894 .000 .409
Welcoming the stranger 1.091 .000 2.978

Model #9: White Catholics with Economic Threat,
Cultural Threat, Social Contact, & Welcoming the
Stranger
Among White Catholics
Senior (65+) .617 .049 1.853
Newcomers are a threat -1.148 .000 .317
Immigrants take U.S. jobs -1.209 .000 .317

Conclusion I: Economic Threat, Cultural
Threat, Social Contact
• Hypotheses that economic threat and cultural threat are negatively
associated with support for a path to citizenship were confirmed.
• Among the general population and among white Catholics, perceptions of economic
threat have slightly stronger negative associations with a path to citizenship than
perceptions of cultural threat do.
• However, among white evangelical Protestants, perceptions of economic threat hold
weaker negative associations with a path to citizenship, compared to perceptions of
cultural threat.
• Our expectations that close social contact with immigrants would have a
positive association with support for a path to citizenship was not
confirmed.

Conclusion II: Religious Attendance and
Religious Values
• Our expectation that higher levels of religious attendance would be
associated with positive support for a path to citizenship was conditionally
confirmed.
• Among white evangelical Protestants, when controlling for economic and cultural threat
(Model 7) attending religious services infrequently (seldom or never) was negatively
associated with support for a path to citizenship.
• Finally, our expectation that thinking that the biblical concept of
“welcoming the stranger” is an extremely important moral guide to
immigration reform would be positively associated with support for a path
to citizenship was not confirmed among either the general population or
among white Catholics, but it was confirmed among white evangelical
Protestants.

Survey Methodology
2013 Religion, Values, and Immigration Reform Survey
• Designed and conducted by Public Religion Research Institute in partnership
with The Brookings Institution
• One of largest surveys ever conducted on immigration (N=4,465 Americans)
• MOE = +/- 1.7 percentage points at the 95% confidence interval for total
sample
• Conducted by telephone (1,774 contacted by cell phone) between January 28
and February 24, 2013
• Bilingual (English and Spanish) interviews
• Funded by The Ford Foundation, with additional support from The Nathan
Cummings Foundation and Four Freedoms Fund/Public Interest Projects

Prri apsa 2013 v4 rpj

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