Authoritarian views most prevalent among those who hold favorable views of Trump, supporters of Christian nationalism, white evangelical Protestants, and weekly churchgoers

WASHINGTON (September 10, 2024) — In the wake of the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Building in 2021 and as the Project 2025 blueprint looms over the 2024 election, a new PRRI survey of more than 5,000 Americans takes a closer look at Americans’ support for authoritarianism by revisiting long-established measures of authoritarianism and their relationships to partisanship and religion. According to the survey, support for authoritarian views are strongest among Republicans (particularly those who hold favorable views of former President Donald Trump), supporters of Christian nationalism, white evangelical Protestants, and weekly churchgoers.

“Our new survey finds that four in ten Americans are susceptible to authoritarian appeals, and that number rises to two-thirds of Republicans and white evangelical Protestants,” says Robert P. Jones, PRRI President and Founder. “Notably, while the vast majority of Americans reject the use of political violence, those who support authoritarianism are nearly twice as likely as the general public to support it. These findings should serve as an important warning as we enter an election season that is incredibly consequential for the health of American democracy.”

The survey relied on two classic approaches to measure authoritarianism.

The survey uses the Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale (RWAS), which was first developed in The Authoritarian Personality (1950) in the wake of the horrors of fascism in the Second World War, and the Child-Rearing Authoritarian Scale (CRAS), an alternative measure of authoritarianism that uses preferred childhood traits. PRRI finds that while most Americans do not hold highly authoritarian views, a substantial minority does: 43% of Americans score high on the Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale (RWAS), while 41% score high on the Child-Rearing Authoritarianism Scale (CRAS).

Two-thirds of Republicans score high on the RWAS (67%) compared with 35% of independents, and 28% of Democrats. Republicans who hold favorable views of Trump are 36 percentage points more likely than those with unfavorable views of Trump to score high on the RWAS (75% vs. 39%). White evangelical Protestants (64%) are the religious group most likely to score high on the RWAS, followed by smaller majorities of Hispanic Protestants (54%) and white Catholics (54%). A majority of weekly churchgoers (55%) score high on the RWAS, compared with 44% of Americans who attend church a few times a year and 38% of those who never attend church services. Patterns are similar for the CRAS, although less pronounced.

Like earlier PRRI studies, the survey finds that three in ten Americans identify as Christian nationalism Adherents (10%) or Sympathizers (20%). Among Americans who are Christian nationalism Adherents or Sympathizers, three-quarters (74%) score high on the RWAS and 61% score high on the CRAS.

While most Americans reject political violence, those scoring high on authoritarianism scales and Christian nationalist measures are significantly more likely to support it — as are Republicans who hold favorable views of Trump.

Fewer than one in five Americans agree with three measures of political violence: 1) that “true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country” (16%); 2) that “if the 2024 presidential election is compromised by voter fraud, everyday Americans will need to ensure that the rightful leader takes office, even if it requires violence actions” (16%); or 3) that “armed citizens are needed as poll watchers to ensure a fair election” (15%).

Those who hold Christian nationalist and Right-Wing Authoritarian views are approximately twice as likely as the public to support political violence. One-third of Christian nationalism Adherents and Sympathizers (33%) agree that “true American patriots may have to resort to violence to save our country,” as do 28% of Americans who score high on the RWAS.

Republicans are about 2.5 times more likely than Democrats to agree with measures of political violence: that patriots may have to resort to violence to save our country (27% vs. 8%); that everyday Americans will need to ensure the rightful leader takes office, even if it requires taking violent actions (24% vs. 10%); and that armed citizens are needed as poll watchers (24% vs. 10%, respectively). And Republicans who have a favorable view of Trump are significantly more likely than those who have an unfavorable view of Trump to agree with all three statements.

Authoritarianism and Christian nationalism supporters favor the idea of a strong leader who is willing to break rules.

Approximately one-third of Americans (34%) agree that “because things have gotten so far off track in this country, we need a leader who is willing to break some rules if that’s what it takes to set things right,” compared with 63% who disagree. Agreement with this statement has decreased by 11 percentage points since the first time it was asked by PRRI in April 2016 (45%). Nearly half of Republicans (49%), 32% of independents, and 22% of Democrats agree with needing a strong leader willing to break rules to set the country right. Republican Trump supporters are more than twice as likely as non-supporters to agree (55% vs. 26%).

Majorities of those who score high on the RWAS (59%) and those who qualify as Christian nationalism Adherents and Sympathizers (55%) agree with the need for a leader who is “willing to break some rules.”

Christian apocalyptic and dominionist views are strongly linked to support for authoritarianism and Christian nationalism.

While seven in ten Americans reject “Seven Mountains” dominionist theology — the idea that God wants Christians to take control of the “7 mountains” of society, including government, education, the media, and other realms — 43% of those who score high on the RWAS and 57% of those who qualify as a Christian nationalism Adherent or Sympathizer agree with this statement. Similarly, while a majority of Americans reject the idea that “The final battle between good and evil is upon us, and Christians should stand firm with the full armor of God,” 70% of those who score high on the RWAS and 84% of those who qualify as a Christian nationalism Adherent or Sympathizer agree with this statement.

Bigoted and harsh views of immigrants are highly correlated with authoritarianism and Christian nationalism.

Roughly one-third of Americans agree that immigrants entering the country illegally today are poisoning the blood of our country (35%), we should round up all immigrants who are in the country illegally, even if it takes setting up encampments guarded by the U.S. military (35%), and immigrants are invading our country and replacing our cultural and ethnic background (33%). By contrast, nearly six in ten Americans who score high on RWAS agree with all three statements (59%, 58%, and 56%, respectively) as do more than six in ten Americans who qualify as Christian nationalism Adherents or Sympathizers (64%, 61%, 65%, respectively). About six in ten Republicans also agree with all three statements (64%, 63%, and 60%, respectively).

Methodology

The survey was designed and conducted by PRRI. The survey was conducted among a representative sample of 5,026 adults (age 18 and up) living in all 50 states in the United States, who are part of Ipsos’s KnowledgePanel and an additional 326 who were recruited by Ipsos using opt-in survey panels to increase the sample sizes in smaller states. Interviews were conducted online between June 6 and 23, 2024. The margin of error for the national survey is +/- 1.58 percentage points at the 95% level of confidence, including the design effect for the survey of 1.4. In addition to sampling error, surveys may also be subject to error or bias due to question wording, context, and order effects.

About PRRI

PRRI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to conducting independent research at the intersection of religion, culture, and politics.

#           #           #