Professor Courtemanche published in prestigious political science journal

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- A paper co-authored by Thiel College Assistant Professor of Political Science Marie Courtemanche, Ph.D., was published in American Political Science Review (APSR), one of the top political science journals in the country.

Courtemanche collaborated with Pazit Ben-Nun Bloom, Ph.D., of Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Gizem Arikan, Ph.D., of Yasar University on the paper “Religious Social Identity, Religious Belief and Anti-Immigration Sentiment.” Their work appears in the May issue of APSR and seeks to explain how religion can fuel both positive and negative attitudes toward immigrants. The authors conducted research among American Catholics, Turkish Muslims and Israeli Jews. The professors sought to explain how religion can induce negative attitudes towards immigrants in some, while it fuels feelings of compassion in others. The researchers found religious social identity increases opposition to immigrants who are dissimilar to in-group members in religion or ethnicity, while religious belief engenders welcoming attitudes toward immigrants of the same religion and ethnicity, particularly among the less conservative devout.

Courtemanche has a doctorate in philosophy from Stony Brook University and a Bachelor of Arts in economics and political science from the University of New Hampshire. She has taught at Texas Christian University, Providence College and Marietta College before coming to Thiel.

Established in 1906, the APSR is the official journal of the American Political Science Association. Papers published in the APSR are cited more frequently than papers published in any other political science journal according to its most recent impact score.