Education, Civic Patriotism, and Democratic Citizenship: Unpacking the Education Effect on Political Involvement

Previous research argues that political involvement not only reflects instrumental concern with political outcomes, but also involves normative motivations such as commitment to collective ideals. Consistent with this view, Americans with a strong sense of "patriotism'' have been found to exhibit higher rates of participation than those with weaker attachment to their country (Huddy and Khatib, 2007). However, citizens with high levels of formal education seem to be an exception. Despite scoring lower on conventional measures of "patriotism,'' well-educated Americans are among the most politically active segments of the population. In this article, it is hypothesized that formal education fosters an alternative, civic form of patriotism that conventional measures are unlikely to capture. Rather than reflecting attachment to a particular nation, civic patriotism is rooted in values and beliefs associated with democratic citizenship. Using data from the 2004 General Social Survey, it is found that civic patriotism helps mediate the education effect on two types of political engagement: grass-roots activism and voting in elections.