Trump’s ‘Fascist Agenda’ Has ‘Blessing’ of Evangelicals Wanting Religious Ethnostate

Last night, PRRI Founder and President Robert P. Jones, Ph.D., joined MSNBC’s Joy Reid on The ReidOut to discuss white evangelicals’ enduring support for former President Donald Trump, and its roots in a belief shared by a majority of white evangelicals (54%) that the United States was ordained to be a promised land for European Christians. In a recent Substack column, Jones debunks the myth that these beliefs – and support for Trump – are coming from non-churchgoing evangelicals, showing that white evangelicals who attend church regularly are equally as likely as those who do not attend church regularly to support Trump and believe the big lie.

On the Ballot in Iowa: Fear. Anxiety. Hopelessness.

Going into the Iowa caucus Monday, many voters experienced existential dread about America’s future and the 2024 presidential election — with some fearing the country could descend into civil war, writes Lisa Lerer for The New York Times. Lerer highlights that on the whole, Democrats and Republicans are blaming each other for the country’s general sense of political division and unrest. In PRRI’s 2023 American Values Survey, a record number of respondents — nearly a quarter of Americans — agreed that “true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.”

Many Republicans Support Abortion. Are They Switching Parties Because of It?

The Guardian’s Carter Sherman reports on continued friction within the Republican party in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade, specifically when it comes to Republican women’s stances on abortion rights. PRRI CEO Melissa Deckman, Ph.D. said, “If anything, Democrats are likely to benefit from boosted turnout,” citing PRRI data which shows that Republican women remain much more likely to think that abortion should be illegal in all cases. PRRI research finds that the portion of pro-choice Americans who identify as Republicans increased 15-percentage points from 2014 to 2023. Furthermore, 20% of Republican women believe abortion should be illegal in all cases.

Why Trump’s Hold on Evangelicals Is So Hard for DeSantis and Haley To Break

In a new analysis for CNN, Ron Brownstein examines the influence of education within the evangelical voting bloc. The majority of evangelical Protestants, regardless of education, reject the idea that Trump broke the law in 2020 or that his reelection would threaten American democracy, according to PRRI. However, 66% of evangelicals without a college degree versus 49% of those with at least a four-year degree express favorable views of Trump. Robert P. Jones, PRRI’s Founder and President, pointed out that education is a much more important predictor of receptivity to Trump and his core themes among evangelicals than their religious attendance.