Christian Nationalism’s Support Is Strongest in Rural, Conservative States

For NPR, Lisa Hagen covers PRRI’s new report that maps support for Christian nationalism across all 50 states. White evangelical Protestants are the most supportive of Christian nationalist views, with 66% supporting or sympathizing with Christian nationalism. PRRI President and Founder Robert P. Jones, Ph.D., spoke to Hagen about how Christian nationalism supporters have become a defining feature of former President Donald Trump’s political movement, stating, “From [the Christian nationalist] worldview, there really aren’t political opponents. What there are is existential enemies. And that’s poison to the fabric of democracy in the country.”

New Survey Finds Pockets of Support for Christian Nationalism Across the Country

Jack Jenkins at Religion News Service reports on PRRI’s latest Christian nationalism survey, which finds that support for the ideology is most concentrated in the Southeast and Upper Midwest. Additionally, nearly four in ten residents of red states express support for Christian nationalism. Jenkins also looks at how Christian Nationalism and its political alliances may influence the upcoming presidential election, with approximately half of Christian nationalism Adherents saying they would only support a candidate who shares their views on gun access and immigration.

Most Americans Cool to Christian Nationalism As Its Influence Grows

Russell Contreras at Axios writesthat while the influence of Christian nationalism on America’s education, immigration, and health care policies is on the rise, PRRI’s new surveyfinds that about two-thirds of Americans reject or are skeptical of the movement. Our report finds that more than 75% of Californians, New Yorkers, and Virginians are Christian nationalism rejecters or skeptics. However, in five deep red states, at least 45% of respondents qualify as adherents or sympathizers (North Dakota, Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, and Louisiana). PRRI’s president and founder, Robert P. Jones, said: “It’s really a claim for an ethno-religious state, and so there’s nothing democratic about that worldview.”

“I’m a Very Proud Christian”: Will Religion Be Enough To Save Donald Trump?

For Salon, Chauncey DeVegaanalyzes former President Donald Trump’s recent appearances at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention and the Conservative Political Action Conference. Trump’s speeches in front of these conservative audiences supported the claim that Christians are being persecuted, advanced the image of Trump as a divinely ordained messiah figure, and identified those who do not support the MAGA movement as enemies of the country. DeVega notes that Christian nationalists are integral to Trump’s chances of taking the White House in the upcoming presidential election; PRRI’s latest research finds that, at the state level, support for Christian nationalism is nearly perfectly correlated with vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 election.