The Johnson Effect: How the New Speaker Sparked a Religious Rhetoric Surge

This post summarizes findings from our Politics & Religion article, “Sacred speech analyzing the influence of congressional leadership on religious rhetoric,” which examines how congressional leadership shapes legislators’ use of religious language. Analyzing nearly 20,000 House floor speeches and constituent newsletters from 2022–2023, we find that Mike Johnson’s election as Speaker in October 2023 coincided with a sharp rise in religious rhetoric among Republican representatives - but only in their outreach to constituents. While floor speeches remained unchanged, GOP newsletters became markedly more religious, suggesting that Johnson’s overt religiosity acted as a symbolic cue that encouraged members to amplify faith-based messaging to their base. These patterns highlight how leadership signals, partisanship, and audience shape the strategic use of religious language in contemporary American politics.

Religion in Public