A new study published in Political Behavior reveals that religious messages emphasizing Christian values can shift white evangelical Republicans’ attitudes on refugees. By highlighting teachings such as Jesus’ call to love one’s neighbor, researchers found that evangelical Republicans became more supportive of refugee resettlement and expressed warmer feelings toward refugees, though support for government benefits remained unchanged. These findings suggest that moral framing rooted in faith may offer a pathway to bridging partisan divides on controversial issues. The study was conducted by a team of political scientists: Brian Newman, a professor at Pepperdine University; Stephanie DeMora, an assistant professor at Stony Brook University; Jennifer Merolla, a professor at the University of California, Riverside; and Elizabeth J. Zechmeister, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor at Vanderbilt University. The researchers sought to examine the tension between Christian values and partisan Republican stances on refugee issues. “We were drawn to this topic because we see an interesting tension in messages that reach white evangelical Christians: the party they tend to support (Republican) takes a restrictionist stance on refugees, while a …