A new study from a Christian outreach nonprofit says Christian nationalists are not the demons that some claim: They’re highly likely to get involved in community service, and interfaith issues and are not necessarily wed to the GOP.
The study, “Christian Nationalism: A New Approach,” comes from Neighborly Faith Inc. of Raleigh, North Carolina, which strives to unite Christians and members of other religions. It calls for a “more refined approach” in gauging the prevalence of Christian nationalism and any threat it may pose.
The Neighborly Faith study defines Christian nationalism as “a movement advancing a vision of America’s past, present, and future that excludes people of non-Christian religions and non-Western cultures.”
“Christian Nationalists romanticize Christianity’s influence on America’s development, attributing the nation’s historical provenance to God’s special favor toward its rightful inhabitants,” the study says. The movement can be linked to White nationalism, but the two are not “inextricably bound together,” it adds.
Neighborly Faith’s study, based on a survey of 2,006 U.S. adults, comes amid media reports warning of a Christian nationalist movement that aims to establish an anti-democratic theocracy through violence and intimidation.
However, both sides of the political divide have embraced the term, with liberals using it as a cudgel or bugbear and some conservatives citing it as a statement of faith and patriotism while disavowing violence.
Politicians branded with the Christian nationalist label include GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado, as well as new House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
Neighborly Faith said its 14-question survey helps distill attitudes among adherents of Christian nationalism and those who merely sympathize with some of the movement’s beliefs. It included questions about whether American culture is “fundamentally Christian,” whether the nation’s success “is a critical part of God’s plan” and whether the federal government should declare the U.S. a “Christian nation.”
It also asked whether the government should permit all faiths to display religious symbols in public spaces, whether public schools should allow teachers and coaches to lead or encourage Christian prayer by students and whether “strict” separation of church and state should be enforced.
According to the survey model, only 11% of respondents fell into the adherent category and 19% were “sympathizers.”
“We just felt that the current slate of research on the topic is selling the field short,” said Kevin Singer, Neighborly Faith’s president and an author of the report.
Studies by other organizations, he said, were “taking what we feel is a very complex phenomenon and … reducing it to some questions that not just Christians but anyone who’s interested in faith being a part of public life can answer in the affirmative.”
“Our study, for example, [shows] that those who might hold some beliefs consistent with Christian nationalism are perhaps some of your most charitable and cooperative neighbors,” said Mr. Singer, who holds master’s degrees in theology from Wheaton College and higher education from North Carolina State University.
According to the survey, those classified as Christian nationalists are among those most likely to claim an interest in working with others on interfaith dialogues (52%); helping those in need with food, clothing or medical supplies (77%); organizing or raising money to help natural disaster victims (81%); and discussing local issues and solutions (65%).
About 51% of those identified as Christian Nationalist adherents or sympathizers agree with the statement that America should “take in refugees from countries where people are trying to escape persecution, violence and war — even if I do not share all of the same beliefs as them,” which closely matches the 51% of the general public on that issue.
The survey also found that just 17% of those identified with Christian nationalism call themselves Republican or Republican-leaning, while 50% said the GOP is “a threat to the U.S.”
Mr. Singer said the results show very few Americans identify with the extreme views linked to Christian nationalism and offer an opportunity to keep the majority of patriotic Christians on an even keel.
“Every day there’s a new Christian nationalist so-called being crucified in the media, but there’s much less [of] a genuine effort to understand those who might sympathize with those beliefs and how to take them away from the precipice of owning those beliefs and maybe accepting the most dangerous form of those beliefs,” he said.
“We’re going to need a movement of people who sympathize with the sympathizers, who sympathize with those who may be susceptible and help understand their concerns and help them to not to accept the most dangerous forms of Christian nationalism wholesale,” Mr. Singer said.
Research firm Technites conducted the survey for Neighborly Faith June 16-21, with an additional oversample of 303 evangelical Christians aged 18-25. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.
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