It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Friday, March 01, 2024
Republicans 3 times more likely than Democrats to hold Christian nationalist views: Survey
Republicans are three times more likely to hold Christian nationalist views than Democrats, according to a recent survey by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).
More than half — 55F percent — of Republicans qualify as Christian nationalists versus 25 percent of independents and 16 percent of Democrats, according to the institute. Additionally, 43 percent of Republicans qualified as “skeptics” or “rejecters” when it comes to Christian nationalism versus 73 percent of independents and 83 percent of Democrats.
The survey also looked at patterns of support for Christian nationalism across the U.S. states, with regions such as the Midwest and Deep South seeing high percentages of those who hold Christian nationalist beliefs. North Dakota and Mississippi both were found to have 50 percent of their residents holding Christian nationalist beliefs.
States on both the East and the West coasts were found to have lower percentages of those who hold Christian nationalist beliefs, with states like Washington, Oregon and Massachusetts all having less than 20 percent of their residents holding Christian nationalist beliefs.
“While Johnson is more polished than other right wing leaders of the GOP who support this worldview … his record and previous public statements indicate that he’s a textbook example of white Christian Nationalism—the belief that God intended America to be a new promised land for European Christians,” Jones said in the newsletter.
Johnson has pushed back on criticism of his Christianity, stating in November of last year that those who give that criticism “don’t know” him.
“I’ve been labeled all kinds of stuff, but these people don’t know me,” Johnson said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” “Look, my family … it’s no fun to be misquoted and maligned and mocked of course, but we know that comes with the job, and we’re unfazed.”
The Public Religion Research Institute study was conducted last year from March 9 to Dec. 7 and included 22,465 adults in the U.S. with a margin of error of plus or minus 0.82 percentage points.
Poll: Most Americans cool to Christian nationalism as its influence grows
Survey of 22,465 U.S. adults taken March 9 through Dec. 7, 2023 Chloropelth map showing the share of people who say they "adhere" or "sympathize" with Christian Nationalism, by state, from a survey of approximately 22,000 U.S. adults taken March 9 through Dec. 7, 2023. The average is 30%. Overall, the majority of the west and New England are below 30%, while most of the south and midwest are above. Data: PRRI; Map: Tory Lysik/Axios Visuals
About two-thirds of Americans reject or are skeptical about Christian nationalism despite its rising influence that's shaping education, immigration and health care policies, a new survey finds.
Why it matters: Some Republicans are openly expressing Christian nationalist views, which have ranged from calls for more religion in public schools to book bans and even suggestions that democracy should die.
This once-fringe ideology has become prevalent in some deeply red states at a time when the nation overall is increasingly diverse and less religious.
The big picture: The new data from the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute's American Values Atlas come days after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos should receive legal protections as "unborn life" — and cited Christianity in its reasoning.
Zoom in: 7 out of 10 Americans said they were rejecters (30%) or skeptics (37%) of Christian nationalism, the PRRI survey said.
In California, New York and Virginia, more than 75% of respondents said they were rejecters or skeptics.
Yes, but: In five deeply red states, at least 45% of respondents said they were adherents or sympathizers of Christian nationalism: North Dakota (50%), Mississippi (50%), Alabama (47%), West Virginia (47%) and Louisiana (46%).
States with the highest levels of support for Christian nationalism form a horseshoe shape, starting in the upper Midwest, dipping down into the deep South, and then through the Appalachian Mountains.
Republicans (55%) are more than twice as likely as independents (25%) and three times more likely than Democrats (16%) to hold Christian nationalist views, the survey found.
Majorities of two religious groups hold Christian nationalist beliefs: white evangelicals (66%) and Hispanic evangelicals (55%). Both groups are strong supporters of former President Trump, other polls have indicated.
Between the lines: Christian nationalism is a set of beliefs centered around white American Christianity's dominance in most aspects of life in the United States.
Many Christian nationalists believe the federal government should declare the U.S. a Christian nation.
Many also believe U.S. laws should be based on Christian values and that God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society.
What they're saying: "It's really a claim for an ethno-religious state, and so there's nothing democratic about that worldview," Robert P. Jones, president and founder of PRRI, tells Axios.
Jones said some Christian nationalists view political foes as evil or demonic rather than as fellow citizens with different opinions, and see them as needing to be conquered.
The intrigue: Tom Parker, chief justice of Alabama's Supreme Court, quoted the Book of Genesis, the Ten Commandments and Christian theologians in the court's recent opinion that said embryos fertilized through in vitro fertilization should be considered children.
The ruling led IVF clinics in Alabama to shut down and set off a scramble among lawmakers nationwide. Conservatives who support IVF are trying to reckon with the fallout from the ruling, which was rooted in a court decision they favored: the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of abortion rights under Roe v. Wade.
The Seven Mountains Mandate urges Christians to take control of seven areas of society: family, religion, government, education, arts and entertainment, commerce and media.
Methodology: The Public Religion Research Institute's American Values Atlas survey was conducted March 9-Dec. 7, 2023 by PRRI. The poll is based on a representative sample of 20,799 adults (age 18 and older) living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia who are part of Ipsos' Knowledge Panel®.
The margin of sampling error is ±0.82 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample.
Survey: 55% of Latino Protestants support Christian nationalism
Christian nationalists led in prayer as part of the "Take Our Border Back Convoy" on February 3, 2024 in Quemado, Texas. Photo: Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
Hispanic Protestants are among the biggest supporters of Christian nationalism despite the belief system's anti-immigrant and anti-diversity stances, according to a new survey.
Why it matters: Aroundtwo-thirds of Americans surveyed said they reject or are skeptical about Christian nationalism, but its prominence in the GOP is helping shape its educational, health care and immigration policies.
About 66% of white evangelicals hold such views — the biggest share of any group surveyed.
Among Latino Catholics, 72% said they rejected or were skeptical of Christian nationalism.
Republicans (55%) are more than twice as likely as independents (25%) and three times more likely than Democrats (16%) to say they hold Christian nationalist views, the survey found.
Christian nationalists are among the strongest supporters of Donald Trump, various polls show.
Context: Christian nationalism is a set of beliefs centered around white American Christianity's dominance in most aspects of life in the United States.
Many Christian nationalists believe the federal government should declare the U.S. a Christian nation and move away from secular interpretations of pluralist democracy.
They are staunchly anti-abortion, oppose rights for transgender people and see religious diversity as a threat to their Christian worldview.
Many also believe U.S. laws should be based on Christian values and that God has called Christians to exercise dominion over society.
What they're saying: "The idea that Christians should actually exercise dominion over all areas of American society has been quite popular among both white and Latino evangelicals," Robert P. Jones, president and founder of PRRI, tells Axios.
Jones said Latino evangelicals also are more likely to identify as racially white.
Many Latino evangelicals don't know they're being indoctrinated with Christian nationalism, Elizabeth Rios, founder of the South Florida Passion Center,a faith-basedjustice-oriented training center, tells Axios.
"I think this is happening because most of our Latinos have been discipled in these white megachurches where a lot of nationalism is taking place."
Christian nationalism counters the message of Jesus, who urged followers to help the poor, strangers, and the sick, not build walls and oppress those who are different than us, Rios says.
Between the lines: The"Take Our Border Back" rallies earlier this month drew Christian nationalists who said they were part of "God's army" sent to defend the U.S. against migrants at the U.S.-Mexico.
Influential Houston Second Baptist Church pastor Ed Young on Sunday referred to migrants as "undesirables, "garbage" and "raff," per the Houston Chronicle.
Methodology: The Public Religion Research Institute's American Values Atlas survey was conducted March 9-Dec. 7, 2023, by PRRI. The poll is based on a representative sample of 22,465 adults (age 18 and older), including 2,742 Latinos, living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia who are part of Ipsos' Knowledge Panel®.
The margin of sampling error is ±0.82 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample.
Support for Christian Nationalism in All 50 States: Findings from PRRI’s 2023 American Values Atlas
To view a PDF of slides presented during PRRI’s February 28, 2024, webinar on the report, please click here. For a replay of the PRRI webinar via YouTube, please click here.
Executive Summary
Throughout 2023, PRRI interviewed more than 22,000 adults as part of its American Values Atlas, which provides for the first time the ability to estimate support for Christian nationalism in all 50 states. Additionally, this new analysis examines how religion, party, education, race, and other factors intersect with Christian nationalist views.
Roughly three in ten Americans qualify as Christian nationalism Adherents or Sympathizers.
Three in ten Americans qualify as Christian nationalism Adherents (10%) or Sympathizers (20%), compared with two-thirds who qualify as Skeptics (37%) or Rejecters (30%).
These percentages have remained stable since PRRI first asked these questions in late 2022.
Residents of red states are significantly more likely than those in blue states to hold Christian nationalist beliefs.
On the map, states with the highest levels of support for Christian nationalism form a horseshoe shape, starting in the upper Midwest, dipping down into the deep South, and then moving up again through the Appalachian Mountains. There are five states in which more than 45% of residents are Christian nationalism Adherents or Sympathizers: North Dakota (50%), Mississippi (50%), Alabama (47%), West Virginia (47%), and Louisiana (46%).
Nearly four in ten residents of red states are Christian nationalists (14% Adherents and 24% Sympathizers); this is nearly twice the proportion of blue state residents who are Christian nationalists (6% Adherents and 16% Sympathizers). Residents of seven battleground states look nearly identical to the national average: 10% are Christian nationalism Adherents and 19% are Sympathizers.
At the state level, support for Christian nationalism is strongly correlated with voting for former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Overall, as the proportion of Christian nationalists in a state increases, the percentage of residents who voted for Trump in 2020 also increases. If the analysis is restricted to white Americans only, the relationship between state-level support for Christian nationalism and votes for Trump in 2020 becomes even stronger.
At the national level, Christian nationalism is strongly linked to Republican party affiliation and holding favorable views of Trump.
Republicans (55%) are more than twice as likely as independents (25%) and three times as likely as Democrats (16%) to hold Christian nationalist views.
Among those who hold favorable views of Trump, 55% qualify as Christian nationalists (21% Adherents and 34% Sympathizers). Only 15% of those who hold favorable views of President Joe Biden qualify as Christian nationalists (4% Adherents and 11% Sympathizers).
Christian nationalism is strongly linked to evangelical/born-again identity and frequent church attendance.
Majorities of two religious groups hold Christian nationalist beliefs: white evangelical Protestants (66%) and Hispanic Protestants (55%), a group among whom seven in ten also identify as evangelical or born-again. Less than four in ten of all other major religious groups qualify as Christian nationalists.
Christian nationalists are more likely than those who reject those views to hold theological beliefs that are markers of some charismatic strands of Christianity: beliefs about modern-day prophecy, spiritual healing, and the prosperity gospel.
Among Americans who attend religious services weekly or more, a majority (52%) are Christian nationalist Adherents or Sympathizers, compared with 38% of those who attend a few times a year and 18% of those who seldom or never attend.
Christian nationalists are more likely than other Americans to see political struggles through the apocalyptic lens of revolution and to support political violence.
A majority of Christian nationalism Adherents (54%) and 45% of Sympathizers agree that “there is a storm coming soon that will sweep away the elites in power and restore the rightful leaders,” compared with only 22% of Skeptics and 7% of Rejecters.
Christian nationalists are about twice as likely as other Americans to believe political violence may be justified. Nearly four in ten Christian nationalism Adherents (38%) and one-third of Sympathizers (33%) agree that “because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence to save the country,” compared with only 17% of Skeptics and 7% of Rejecters.
While there is little variation in support for Christian nationalist beliefs by race or ethnicity alone, Christian nationalist beliefs are refracted through racial and ethnic identity, which produces divergent political outcomes among white, Hispanic, and Black Americans.
Among white Americans and Hispanic Americans — but not Black Americans — holding Christian nationalist beliefs is strongly correlated with Republican Party identity and support for Trump.
Black Americans who hold Christian nationalist beliefs are not significantly more likely than Black Americans overall to identify as Republican (8% vs. 5%).
Black Christian nationalists are only slightly more likely than Black Americans overall to hold favorable views of Trump (21% vs. 14%).
White Christian nationalists are far more likely than Hispanic and Black Christian nationalists to prioritize the issues of immigration and access to guns when they think about supporting a political candidate.
White Christian nationalists are far more likely than Hispanic or Black Christian nationalists to say they most trust Fox News or far-right television news sources to give them accurate information about current events and politics.
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