Christian Nationalism on the rise in the US, especially among Protestants

February 15, 2023

A recent survey by PRRI/Brookings aimed at measuring the “rising influence of Christian nationalism in some segments of American politics” found that around 10% of the American population can be described as Christian nationalists in the sense that they believe the country should be a Christian nation, its laws should be based on Christian values, and that being Christian is an important part of being American. Tragically, 35% of those surveyed claimed they have never heard of the term Christian nationalism.

The survey found that 29% of White Evangelical Protestants now adhere to Christian nationalist views, compared to only 8% of White Roman Catholics. 14% of Black Protestants and 6% of Mestizo Roman Catholics were also found to adhere to Christian nationalist ideals.

Overall, the survey also found that while 41% of the total population believe unfair discrimination against white people is at least just as big of a problem as discrimination against non-whites, 85% of white people who are Christian nationalists agree with this proposition. 72% of the same demographic also disagree with the statement that a black person is more likely to receive the death penalty for the same crime than a white person. While only 32% of Americans acknowledge the reality of systematic demographic replacement through mass immigration, 71% of all Christian nationalist adherents and 81% of those who are white do so.

Respondents were also asked whether they agreed with the following statement: “God intended America to be a land where European Christians could create a society that could be an example to the rest of the world.” Only 30% of Americans overall agree with this statement, while 87% of Christian nationalists who are white and 77% of those who are non-white agree.

The Pactum Institute is encouraged by the fact that these sensible propositions associated with Christian Nationalism are gaining ground among American Protestants, even despite the liberal clergy’s best efforts to anathemize them.