Abstract
As the January 6 insurrection unfolded, religious leaders who had supported Donald Trump were set on a behavioral process of response or silence. Some religious leaders offered statements that largely condemned the violence, others promoted conspiracy theories about the actors involved, and still others offered a defensive response. This study compiles Twitter data of religious leaders from January 1 through the six-month anniversary on July 6, 2021, and finds that their responses form a typology from the conciliatory to the antagonistic. This typology is a useful framework to assess their immediate and changing responses in the contestation of January 6. The insurrection represents a potential rally event in an ongoing narrative of Christian nationalism, and how religious leaders frame it bears implications for the civic education and engagement of their followers.
Recommended Citation
Hatcher, Andrea C.
(2022)
"Framing an Insurrection: A Typology of Responses by Evangelical Leaders,"
eJournal of Public Affairs: Vol. 11:
No.
1, Article 7.
Available at:
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/ejopa/vol11/iss1/7