RELIGION AND IDEOLOGICAL SUPPORT FOR SOCIAL-MOVEMENTS - THE CASE OF ANIMAL RIGHTS

This paper intersects two recent trends in social movement research: r ediscovery of the centrality of both ideology and religion to understa nding social movements. Using two recent national surveys, we assess t he extent to which three religious beliefs and one religiously linked belief are related to ideological support for the animal rights moveme nt in the general public. among both women and men, the belief that Go d is in nature and a religiously linked opposition to science facilita te support for animal rights, counteracting the negative impact of gre ater church attendance. However, biblical literalism and a ''gracious' ' image of God have little effect on acceptance of animal rights. We c onclude by considering implications of these results for subsequent re search on religion and ideological support for social movements.