[New polling shows the appeal — and limits — of a Christian
nationalist message. ]
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MOST REPUBLICANS SUPPORT DECLARING THE UNITED STATES A CHRISTIAN
NATION  
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Stella Rouse and Shibley Telhami
September 21, 2022
Politico
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_ New polling shows the appeal — and limits — of a Christian
nationalist message. _

Appeals to Christian nationalism have a long tradition in American
history, though they have usually operated on the fringes., Drew
Angerer/Getty Images

 

Christian nationalism, a belief that the United States was founded
as a white, Christian nation
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that there is no separation between church and state, is gaining steam
on the right.

Prominent Republican politicians have made the themes critical to
their message to voters in the run up to the 2022 midterm elections.
Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania,
has argued
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America is a Christian nation and that the separation of church and
state is a “myth.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia
hard-liner, declared
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“We need to be the party of nationalism and I’m a Christian, and I
say it proudly, we should be Christian Nationalists.” Amid a
backlash
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she doubled down and announced she would start selling “Christian
Nationalist” shirts
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Now Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis seems to be flirting with Christian
nationalist rhetoric, as well
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Appeals to Christian nationalism have a long tradition in American
history, though they have usually operated on the fringes. But the
increasingly mainstream appearance of this belief in GOP circles makes
sense if you look at new public opinion surveys. Our new University of
Maryland Critical Issues Poll suggests that declaring the United
States a Christian nation is a message that could be broadly embraced
by Republicans in the midterms and 2024 presidential race. But our
findings also see limits to its appeal — and over the long-term,
Christian nationalism could be a political loser.

Most Republicans Say Christian Nationalism Is Unconstitutional — But
Still Support It

Our national poll
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2,091 participants, carried out May 6-16, 2022, with a margin of error
of +/- 2.14 percent.

We started by asking participants if they believed the Constitution
would even allow the United States government to declare the U.S. a
“Christian Nation.” We found that 70 percent of Americans —
including 57 percent of Republicans and 81 percent of Democrats —
said that the Constitution would not allow such a declaration.
(Indeed, the First Amendment says Congress can neither establish nor
prohibit the practice of a religion.)

We followed up by asking: “Would You Favor or Oppose the United
States Officially Declaring the United States to be a Christian
Nation?” The findings were striking.

Overall, 62 percent of respondents said they opposed such a
declaration, including 83 percent of Democrats and 39 percent of
Republicans. Fully 61 percent of Republicans supported declaring the
United States a Christian nation. In other words, even though over
half of Republicans previously said such a move would be
unconstitutional, a majority of GOP voters would still support this
declaration.

Not surprisingly, much of the support for declaring the U.S. a
Christian nation comes from Republicans who identify themselves as
Evangelical or born-again Christians: Seventy-eight percent of this
group support the move compared to 48 percent of other Republicans.
Among Democrats, a slight majority of those identifying themselves as
Evangelical or born-again Christians also backed such a declaration
(52 percent), compared to just 8 percent of other Democrats.

Younger Generations, Including Younger Republicans, Are Less
Supportive of Christian Nationalism

Previous research
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shown that the youngest generations — millennials (those born
between 1981 and 1996) and Generation Z (those born between 1997 and
2012) — are less likely to be religiously affiliated and to trust
religious institutions. That’s also consistent with the results from
our Critical Issues Poll.

We found that members of younger generations are less likely than
those of older generations to support declaring the U.S. a Christian
nation. Only about a quarter of Millennial respondents (25 percent)
and a third of Generation Z respondents (34 percent) favor this
declaration. By contrast, a majority of respondents from the two
oldest generations — Silent Generation (those born between 1928 and
1945) and baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) support the
U.S. being declared a Christian nation (54 percent and 50 percent,
respectively).

Within the generations, partisanship also plays a role in shaping
attitudes about Christian nationalism.

Most Republicans in every age group favor designating the U.S. a
Christian nation, but even more so in older generations. Fully 71
percent of Silent Generation Republicans and 72 percent of Republican
baby boomers would like to see the U.S. officially declared a
Christian nation, compared to 33 percent of Silent Generation
Democrats and 20 percent of Democratic baby boomers. Among the
youngest generations, we see that 51 percent of Millennial Republicans
and 51 percent of Generation Z Republicans want the U.S. to be
declared a Christian nation, compared to 10 percent of Millennial
Democrats and 7 percent of Generation Z Democrats.

Along with age, race can also play a factor when it comes to
sympathizing with Christian nationalism.

Our polling found that white grievance is highly correlated with
support for a Christian nation. White respondents who say that members
of their race have faced more discrimination than others are most
likely to embrace a Christian America. Roughly 59 percent of all
Americans who say white people have been discriminated against a lot
more in the past five years favor declaring the U.S. a Christian
nation, compared to 38 percent of all Americans. White Republicans who
said white people have been more discriminated against also favored a
Christian nation (65 percent) by a slightly larger percentage than all
Republicans (63 percent).

The rising threat to American democracy was made quite clear during
the Jan. 6 insurrection, which featured, not incidentally,
significant Christian nationalist imagery
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Indeed, as our polling shows, a non-trivial number of Americans want
to see the U.S. become a Christian nation— even if they acknowledge
that the Constitution prohibits such a designation. Prominent
Republican politicians have seized on this sentiment and are openly
campaigning on a message of Christian nationalism.

Our poll results demonstrate why this message may be resonating, at
least among the most ardent, religious and older base of the
Republican Party. However, this strategy may be short-sighted. As our
findings demonstrate, there is strong opposition to declaring the U.S.
a Christian nation among younger Americans, and even younger
Republicans. For that reason, the GOP may want to tread carefully or
risk alienating rising generations.

_Stella Rouse is professor of government and politics and associate
director of the University of Maryland’s Critical Issues Poll._

_Shibley Telhami is distinguished scholar-teacher, professor of
government and politics, and director of the University of
Maryland’s Critical Issues Poll._

 

* Christian nationalists
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* republicans
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* Separation of Church and State
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