More than half of Republicans either agree with or sympathize with Christian nationalism, according to a February survey by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the Brookings Institute.
Researchers conducted the survey by asking respondents whether they completely agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree or completely disagree with a set of five questions. Based on their answers, respondents were given a composite score ranging from zero to one to determine whether they are Christian Nationalism adherents, sympathizers, skeptics or rejecters. (RELATED: Patients Would Be Able To Sue Doctors Who Perform Sex Change Surgeries On Minors Under Republican Arkansas Proposal)
Two of the five questions asked participants whether “The U.S. government should declare America a Christian nation,” and if “Being Christian is an important part of being truly American,” according to the survey.
Overall, 29% of Americans surveyed were ranked as adherents or sympathizers of Christian nationalism, and 68% were ranked as skeptics or rejecters, the results of the survey show.
Among Republicans, a total of 54% were adherents or sympathizers, while a total of 44% were skeptics or rejecters. Fifteen percent of Democrats were classified as adherents or sympathizers, and Independents were 23% supportive of Christian nationalism, according to the survey.
Long seen as a fringe viewpoint, Christian nationalism now has a foothold in American politics.
More than half of Republicans believe the country should be a strictly Christian nation, a new survey finds.https://t.co/oHAFB0OGX6
— NPR (@NPR) February 14, 2023
Among white evangelical Protestant respondents, a total of 64% were either adherents or sympathizers with Christian nationalism, while 33% of the same group were skeptics or rejecters. Forty-three percent of Hispanic Protestants were adherents or sympathizers, while 55% were skeptics or rejecters. Thirty-eight percent of black Protestants were supportive of Christian nationalism, while 58% of respondents said they were skeptics of rejecters, according to the survey results.
The survey was carried out among roughly 6,000 adults living in all 50 U.S. states, including 528 additional respondents recruited by Ipsos via opt-in survey methods, which increased the number of Republican participants, according to the survey’s methodology summary. Participants were interviewed online from Nov. 21 to Dec. 14, 2022 with +/- 1.6% margin of error.