45% of Americans say the United States should be a Christian nation, according to a new study from Pew Research. An even higher number–60%–believe that the founding fathers “originally intended” for the United States to be a Christian nation. And 33% of Americans believe that the United States “is now” a Christian nation.
If we break this down further, 81% of white evangelicals believe that the founders “originally intended for the U.S. to be a Christian nation.” The same percentage of white evangelicals believe that the U.S. “should be” a Christian nation.
As a historian, I am particularly concerned about those who still believe that the founders were trying to create a Christian nation. Perhaps a third edition of Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?: A Historical Introduction is needed.
Here are a few more findings from the study:
- 67% of Americans believe that churches should stay out of political matters. 45% of white evangelicals believe this.
- 22% of Americans believe that “religious organizations have too much political influence.” 12% of white evangelicals believe this.
- 47% of Americans believe the Bible should have “a great deal” or “some” influence on U.S. laws. 84% of white evangelicals believe this.
- 69% of Americans believe the government should “never declare any particular religion as the official religion of the United States.
- 54% of Americans believe the government should enforce the separation of church and state.
- 63% of Americans believe the government should advocate “for moral values that are shared by people of many faiths”
- 51% of Americans believe the Bible should have “little or no influence of U.S. laws.”
- 27% of Americans believe that if the teachings of the Bible and the will of the people conflict, the Bible should have more influence. 65% of American evangelicals believe this.
- 54% of Americans have never heard of “Christian nationalism.” 57% of white evangelicals have never heard of it.
- 72% of Americans believe that “religion is losing influence in American life.” 84% of white evangelicals believe this.
- White evangelical Protestants, white non-evangelical Protestants, Black Protestants, White Catholics, Hispanic Catholics, and the religiously unaffiliated all believe that they are “losing” on political issues.
- 64% of white evangelicals believe the Democratic Party is “unfriendly” toward religion.
- 62% of white evangelicals believe the Biden administration is “unfriendly” toward religion.
- 76% of white evangelicals believe that “patriotism” is “essential to their Christian identity.
- 70% of white evangelicals believe is “harder” in the U.S. today for people who “have a strong religious faith.”
Read the entire report here.
John, Your historical arguments about the USA being founded as a “Christian nation”–along with those of others–are important and compelling. I take a different approach to the question of whether America should be a Christian Nation: It’s like asking whether circles should be squares or 3 should be an even number.
I think that the basis of the problem is not historical, but theological. Even if the (New England) founders had this in mind (you yourself argued in Believe Me that they made a conscious choice between scripture and the compact if I remember correctly), that’s irrelevant. There can’t be any such thing as a Christian nation if we understand “Christian” in any biblical sense.
There’s nuance, but that’s the bottom line, and thinking otherwise is why the gospel is so tragically obscured in our time–often (and this is the tragedy) by those who hold most loudly to the truth of scripture.
I am heartbroken by this…