Lack of Support for Gay Candidates: Religion, Values, Prejudice, or Homophobia?

The study of political minorities is one of the most pressing questions in political science. For the most part, the literature has focused on women and racial minorities, finding that, in general, the same characteristics and attitudes that lead to discrimination against women also lead to discrimination against African-Americans. In this paper, however, I examine attitudes toward homosexuals. Specifically, is the hostility directed to the gay community the same as the hostility directed to other outgroups - African-Americans, in particular? Using data from the 2006 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, this paper explores whether those who report an unwillingness to vote for gay candidates are guided by their values, their religious beliefs, a general prejudicial disposition, or a targeted homophobic disposition. Results indicate that neither religious belief nor a generalized prejudicial disposition account for intolerance of gay candidates or the gay community at-large. Rather, results indicate that a targeted homophobic disposition leads to such reluctance to vote for gay candidates, having several implications for the larger democratic context and the way in which intolerance of gays is conceptualized. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]