| Abstract | The predictors of Latino political ideology have yet to be fully understood. In order to better fill in Latino political ideology studies, I focus on how Latino cultural values have the ability to influence Latino ideology. Specifically, the strong Latino cultural values of religion and marriage are studied. This study conducts regressional analysis on Latino ideology against religiosity, Protestant identity, Catholic identity, marital status, and sex across both the Latino National Survey of 2006 and the Cooperative Congressional Election Study of 2012. Though the studies have different distributions of Latino ideology, the finding between the datasets are similar in nature. This study finds evidence of high religiosity, a Protestant identity, and being married increasing Latino conservatism. In this study, there is no conclusive evidence of Catholic identity or being male increasing Latino conservatism. Future research must dive into the intricacies of each of these variables so the literature can better reflect an understanding of why religiosity, Protestant identity, and being married increase Latino conservatism in the way that they do. These findings can be used to better messaging strategies in political campaigns in order to increase Latino support for presidential candidates. |
