Summary: | Considerable evidence shows that religion-secular divide has become an important issue in modern politics which plays
a crucial role in voters’ decision-making processes. As more political parties applying marketing concepts and strategies
to motivate voters, this study aims to examine the role of political brand religious image (PBRIM) in influencing voters’
citizenship behavior (VCB) and sought to determine whether or not there are any differences between the citizenship
behavior of religious and secular voters. This study used social credibility theory to underpin the relationship between
variables. The data was collected from 520 voters in Indonesia who participated in the 2014 presidential election. A quota
sampling technique and a drop-off and collect survey distribution approach were used in this study. The relationship
between PBRIM and VCB (feedback, advocacy, help, and tolerance) was examined using Partial Least Squares Structural
Equation Modelling (SmartPLS-SEM). Findings revealed that there is a significant, positive relationship between PBRIM
and the dimensions of VCB. Besides that, there was a significant difference between political parties’ religious and secular
images with all the four dimensions of voter’s citizenship behavior namely, advocacy, helping, feedback and tolerance
behavior. Although both secular and religious voters are motivated to citizenship behavior, religious voters showed more
inclination towards advocacy, tolerance, and helping behaviors. The findings of this research contributed to the body of
knowledge in political marketing research by considering the political parties’ religious image in branding metrics. The
revealed relationship will help the political parties to design their election campaign for ensuring voters support.
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