New analysis finds support for Christian nationalism is inextricably linked with attitudes toward Confederate memorials.
WASHINGTON (June 18, 2024)— Amidst ongoing debates over Confederate statues and memorials in public spaces, a new national survey from PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute) and E Pluribus Unum (EPU) finds that Americans remain divided over preserving the legacy of the Confederacy and are not any more likely to support efforts to understand and repair the damage of past discrimination than two years ago.
Two years after PRRI and EPU released a major national survey on this topic, this new survey reexamines the role of race and racism on Americans’ views on preserving the legacy of Confederate monuments. New analysis of survey data, which was conducted among more than 5,500 adults throughout March 2024, also considers the influence of generation as well as views on racism and Christian nationalism in shaping such attitudes.
“In 2022, PRRI’s pathbreaking survey with E Pluribus Unum found that while Americans expressed broad support for telling the truth about the history of slavery, violence, and discrimination against racial minorities in their communities, their views on the legacy of the Confederacy were deeply divided by race, religion, and party,” said Melissa Deckman, Ph.D., CEO of PRRI. “Those divisions largely persist today. Yet, new analysis along generational divides finds younger Americans are less supportive of efforts to preserve the legacy of the Confederacy in public spaces and more supportive of renaming public schools and mascots with racist connotations.”
A slim majority of Americans support preserving the legacy of the Confederacy; greater support can be seen in the South.
When asked if they support or oppose “efforts to preserve the legacy and history of the Confederacy through public memorials and statues in their community,” 52% of Americans support such efforts compared with 44% who oppose them, nearly identical to 2022. Southern Americans (58%) are more likely than other Americans (50%) to support efforts to preserve the legacy of the Confederacy.
Eight in ten Republicans (81%) compared with 30% of Democrats support efforts to preserve the legacy of the Confederacy. Notably, independents have become slightly more likely to support efforts to preserve the legacy of the Confederacy in the past two years (52% in 2024 vs. 46% in 2022).
Gen Z (41%) is the only generation without majority support for preserving the legacy of the Confederacy, compared with two-thirds of the Silent Generation (62%), 58% of Gen X, 56% of baby boomers, and 51% of millennials.
Similar to 2022, Americans lack consensus over what to do with Confederate memorials, with attitudes divided by party and race.
Nearly unchanged since 2022, Americans’ attitudes about what to do with Confederate memorials and monuments remain divided. A plurality of Americans (35%) say Confederate monuments should remain in place but with added information, 28% say that monuments should be removed from public spaces and put in museums, one-quarter of Americans (26%) say they should be left in place as-is, and 9% say they should be destroyed.
Nearly half of Republicans (47%) support leaving the monuments as they are while nearly half of Democrats (46%) support moving the monuments to museums and a plurality of independents support leaving the statues and memorials in place with added information (38%).
Black Americans are most supportive of removing Confederate memorials: 25% say they should be removed and destroyed, 39% say they should be placed in a museum. White Americans are far more likely to say they should remain in place with added context (38%) or remain in place as they are (30%).
Though the vast majority of Americans support various efforts to better understand and repair the damage of past discrimination, specific policy actions are less popular and have lost support among some groups.
While nearly all Americans support “efforts to tell the truth about the history of slavery, violence, and discrimination against racial minorities in your community” (90%) and nearly three-quarters support “efforts to repair the damage done by past violence or discrimination against racial minorities” (72%), neither has seen an increase in support since 2022.
As in 2022, Americans remain divided renaming public schools and changing mascots that have racist connotations. Half of Americans support efforts to rename schools that are named after individuals who supported slavery and racial discrimination (50%) and equal shares of Americans support and oppose changing school mascots that use Native American names or images without permission, have racist connotations, or are offensive to certain groups (both 49%). Gen Zers (58% and 54%) and millennials (54% and 56%) are the only generations with majority support for efforts to rename public schools or change mascots with racist connotations.
Two-thirds of Christian nationalism Rejecters support efforts to rename public schools (74%) and change mascots (75%) with racist connotations. Just under half of Christian nationalism Skeptics support such efforts (49% and 47%, respectively). In comparison, between three in ten and one-third of Christian nationalism Sympathizers (36% and 31%) and Adherents (28% and 33%) say the same.
Consensus on celebrating diversity in public spaces, but division over what to prioritize in memorials.
Almost all Americans (94%) agree with the statement “Public spaces in our community like parks, libraries, government buildings, and public university campuses should be open and welcoming to people of all races and backgrounds.”
Americans are divided in their views on the statements “We should not memorialize historical figures who supported the Confederacy or racial segregation in public spaces” (55% agree and 43% disagree) and “When Confederate monuments are removed, communities should create new inclusive public monuments” (58% agree and 40% disagree).
About half of Americans with a high school education or less (49% and 57%) and with some college education (53% and 54%) agree with these statements, while about six in ten of those with a college degree (60% and 59%) and a postgraduate degree (64% and 61%) agree.
When asked to pick their top three of 12 potential values that they believe would be the most important in guiding the creation of new monuments and art in public spaces, Americans are most likely to choose service and contributions to the community (48%), patriotism (42%), and the idea of a nation of immigrants (38%).
Among Republicans, 68% selected patriotism as a top value and 47% selected service and contributions to the community. Among Democrats, the most popular value selected was service and contributions to the community (51%), followed by the idea of a nation of immigrants (50%), racial equality (43%) and racial diversity (41%). Among independents, 51% selected service and contributions to the community, followed by 43% who selected patriotism and 40% who selected the idea of a nation of immigrants.
Overall, white Christians more often selected patriotism as a top value, compared with other groups; Black Protestants most often selected racial equality (61%) and racial diversity (52%) as top values.
The full report, “Creating More Inclusive Public Spaces Two Years Later,” is available on PRRI’s website.
Methodology
The survey was designed and conducted by PRRI. The survey was made possible through the generous support of the Mellon Foundation. The survey was conducted among a representative sample of 5,045 U.S. adults (age 18 and up) living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, who are part of Ipsos’s Knowledge Panel and an additional 739 who were recruited by Ipsos using opt-in survey panels to increase the sample sizes in smaller states. Interviews were conducted online between March 13 and 25, 2024. The margin of error for the national survey is +/- 1.52 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.
About E Pluribus Unum
Founded by former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu in 2018, E Pluribus Unum (EPU) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to build a more equitable and inclusive South, uprooting the barriers that have long divided the region by race and class. EPU’s focus is on cultivating and empowering courageous leaders who are focused on racial equity, changing the divisive narratives that perpetuate systemic and interpersonal racism, and championing transformative policy change.
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