Majority of Utahns don't hold Christian nationalist views
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The majority of Utahns (71%) reject or are skeptical about Christian nationalism, despite its rising influence shaping education, immigration and health care policies, a new survey finds.
Why it matters: Nationwide, some Republicans are openly expressing Christian nationalist views, which have ranged from calls for more religion in public schools to book bans and even suggestions that democracy should die.
- This once-fringe ideology has become prevalent in some deeply red states at a time when the nation overall is increasingly diverse and less religious.
Between the lines: Christian nationalism is a set of beliefs centered around white American Christianity's dominance in most aspects of life in the United States.
- Many Christian nationalists believe the federal government should declare the U.S. a Christian nation.
- Many also believe U.S. laws should be based on Christian values and that God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society.
By the numbers: Utah is the only red state where support for Christian nationalism falls below the national average (30%), according to data from the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute's American Values Atlas released last month.
- About 27% of Utahns are adherents or sympathizers of Christian nationalism.
The intrigue: Religious groups with strong GOP leanings are most likely to hold Christian nationalist views.
- Nationally, about 42% of Latter-day Saints support Christian nationalism, according to PRRI.
State of play: Utah lawmakers this legislative session approved a proposal to include the Ten Commandments in the U.S. history curricula.
- A measure that would make it easier to ban books at public schools across the state received final approval from the state Legislature.
- A bill that would have allowed volunteer chaplains at public schools advanced in the House but failed in the Senate.
Zoom out: In five deeply red states, at least 45% of respondents said they were adherents or sympathizers of Christian nationalism: North Dakota (50%), Mississippi (50%), Alabama (47%), West Virginia (47%), and Louisiana (46%).
- In California, New York, and Virginia, more than 75% of respondents said they were rejectors or skeptics.
Republicans (55%) are more than twice as likely as independents (25%) and three times more likely than Democrats (16%) to hold Christian nationalist views, the survey found.
- Majorities of two religious groups hold Christian nationalist beliefs: white evangelicals (66%) and Hispanic evangelicals (55%). Both groups are strong supporters of former President Trump, other polls have indicated.
What they're saying: "It's really a claim for an ethno-religious state, and so there's nothing democratic about that worldview," PRRI president and founder Robert P. Jones tells Axios.
- Jones said some Christian nationalists view political foes as evil or demonic rather than as fellow citizens with different opinions and see them as needing to be conquered.