Headshot of Joshua Davis

Joshua Davis

Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor
Office: UNH COLA Sociology, McConnell Hall, Durham, NH 03824
Websites:
Pronouns: He/him/his

Dr. Joshua Davis is an Assistant Professor at the University of New Hampshire studying White Christian Nationalism and cultural support for harsh criminal punishment. Specifically, Dr. Davis's research investigates whether and how the intersection of racial identity and support for "religious" authoritarianism among Americans influence attitudes towards "criminals" and "troublemakers" in society. Further, Dr. Davis's research highlights the role of racialized religious belief structures in the continued salience of racially-coded political strategies in the U.S.

Prospective Students: Dr. Davis is interested in fostering research agendas focusing on the continuance and consequences of Mass Incarceration in the United States, the impact of racialized religious practice and identity on political and social attitudes, and the impact of race in the criminal justice system more broadly.

Courses Taught

  • SOC 402: Statistics
  • SOC 921: Crime and Conflict

Education

  • Ph.D., Sociology, University of Oklahoma

Research Interests

  • Criminal justice
  • Race and racism
  • Religion & Society
  • Nationalism
  • Politics and society

Selected Publications

  • Davis, J. T., Perry, S. L., & Grubbs, J. B. (2024). Liberty for Us, Limits for Them: Christian Nationalism and Americans’ Views on Citizens’ Rights. Sociology of Religion, 85(1), 60-82. doi:10.1093/socrel/srac044

  • Perry, S. L., Davis, J. T., & Grubbs, J. B. (2023). Controlling the Past to Control the Future: Christian Nationalism and Mandatory Patriotic Education in Public Schools. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 62(3), 694-708. doi:10.1111/jssr.12858

  • Perry, S. L., Riccardi‐Swartz, S., Davis, J. T., & Grubbs, J. B. (2023). The Religious Right and Russia: Christian Nationalism and Americans’ Views on Russia and Vladimir Putin Before and After the Ukrainian Invasion. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 62(2), 439-450. doi:10.1111/jssr.12838

  • Davis, J. T., & Perry, S. L. (2021). White Christian Nationalism and Relative Political Tolerance for Racists. Social Problems, 68(3), 513-534. doi:10.1093/socpro/spaa002

  • Davis, J. T. (2019). Funding God’s policies, defending whiteness: Christian nationalism and whites’ attitudes towards racially-coded government spending.. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 42(12), 2123-2142. doi:10.1080/01419870.2018.1527939

  • Perry, S. L., Whitehead, A. L., & Davis, J. T. (2019). God’s Country in Black and Blue: How Christian Nationalism Shapes Americans’ Views about Police (Mis)treatment of Blacks. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 5(1), 130-146. doi:10.1177/2332649218790983

  • Davis, J. (2018). Enforcing Christian Nationalism: Examining the Link Between Group Identity and Punitive Attitudes in the United States. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 57(2), 300-317. doi:10.1111/jssr.12510

  • Perry, S. L., & Davis, J. T. (2017). Are Pornography Users More Likely to Experience a Romantic Breakup? Evidence from Longitudinal Data. Sexuality & Culture, 21(4), 1157-1176. doi:10.1007/s12119-017-9444-8

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