Christian Nationalism
Christian nationalism is an ideology that American should be a Christian nation, founded on the false belief that America was founded as a Christian nation. According to scholar Bradley Onishi:
- "Christian nationalism is an ideology that is based around the idea that this is a Christian nation, that this was founded as a Christian nation, and, therefore, it should be a Christian nation today and should be so in the future."
- "According to survey data, Christian nationalists agree with statements like the federal government should declare the United States of America a Christian nation. Our laws should be based on Christian values. being a Christian is important if you want to be a real American."[1].
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Who Is a Christian Nationalist?
In 2023, PRRI conducted a survey assessing how many Americans mostly or completely agreed with the following statements:[2]
- "The U.S. government should declare America a Christian nation."
- "U.S. laws should be based on Christian values."
- "If the U.S. moves away from our Christian foundations, we will not have a country anymore."
- "Being Christian is an important part of being truly American."
- "God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society."
Then they labeled those who most strongly agreed with all five statements "adherents" of Christian nationalists, and the group that agreed some but slightly less as "sympathizers." They labeled those who somewhat rejected the statements "skeptics," and those who completely rejected all five statements as "rejecters." They found that, altogether 10% of Americans are adherents, 19% are sympathizers, 39% are skeptics, and 29% are rejecters.
Adherence and sympathy to Christian nationalism differs by race and religion. Nearly two-thirds of White evangelical Protestants are adherents (29%) and sympathizers (35%). All other groups are less likely to adhere to or sympathize with Christian nationalism. Compared to the 29% of white evangelicals who are adherents, 25% of Hispanic evangelicals and 20% of Black evangelicals are adherents.
Adherence and sympathy to Christian nationalism also varies by political beliefs. More than half of Republicans (21% adherents, 33% sympathizers) are adherents or sympathetic to Christian nationalism, compared to 23% of independents and 15% of Democrats. Among those who most trust far right news or Fox News, 79% and 54% adhere to or sympathize with Christian nationalism, respectively. This compares with 23% who most trust mainstream news.
Among adherents, more than three in ten (71%) have somewhat or very favorable impressions of Donald Trump, compared to 17% who have somewhat or very favorable impressions of Joe Biden. This contrasts with rejectors, 70% of whom have somewhat or very favorable impressions of Joe Biden, compared to 8% who have somewhat or very favorable impressions of Trump.
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References
- ↑ What is Christian nationalism and why it raises concerns about threats to democracy," PBS News Hour, February 1, 2024, accessed March 16, 2024.
- ↑ PRRI Staff, "A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture," PRRI, February 8, 2023, Accessed March 16, 2024.
