Less than one-third of Utahns hold Christian nationalist beliefs, according to a sweeping 50-state survey by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute.

Why it matters: The once-fringe ideology holds that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation and should be governed according to strict fundamentalist Christian values, even as the country becomes less religious.

The intrigue: Nationally, Latter-day Saints, Utah's largest religious group, appear divided over support for Christian nationalism.

• A separate survey by the Public Religion Research Institute released last October found that 49% of Latter-day Saints identified as adherents or sympathizers of Christian nationalism, while an equal share were skeptical or rejected it.

Christian nationalism is deeply entrenched inside today's Republican Party, according to the survey.

• Utah had the lowest share of residents holding those beliefs among red states.

By the numbers: About one-third of Americans qualify as Christian nationalism "adherents" or "sympathizers."

• 56% of Republicans fall into one of those two categories, the survey said.
• By contrast, 25% of independents and 17% of Democrats do.

Context: Many adherents say the U.S. was founded as the "Promised Land" for white European Christians, and falsely believe the founding fathers sought to create a Christian nation, PRRI president Robert Jones tells Axios.

• Critics say Christian nationalism reinforces rigid, male-dominated leadership models in church, home and government, and merges religious identity with white ethnic nationalism.
• It also elevates Christianity — often a specific conservative Protestant expression — above other faiths.

Zoom in: The survey also shows that Christian nationalism strongly correlates with those who have a favorable opinion of President Trump and those who live in states with GOP-controlled state legislatures.

• The report found that many of those who support Christian nationalism also support far-right views around immigration, pluralism and gender roles, PRRI CEO Melissa Deckman said.
• In Utah, bills that would bar undocumented immigrants from accessing public benefits and revoke driving privilege cards are advancing through the state Legislature.

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Utah's Olympians will be weighing down flights out of Milan with gold, silver and bronze.

The big picture: 19 athletes with ties to Utah won medals in 15 events at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games.

By the numbers: In individual events, that accounts for two of Team USA's eight gold medals, five of eight silvers and three of seven bronzes.

• In team events, Utah athletes contributed to three of four golds, one of four silvers and one of two bronzes.

Here are highlights from the final few days of the games:

⛷️ An all-Utah mixed freeski aerials team soared to a gold medal even without Quinn Dehlinger — one of skiing's top aerialists, who is nursing a knee injury.

• Connor Curran subbed in, joining his fellow Park City skiers Chris Lillis and Kaila Kuhn to win by more than 28 points — the final round's biggest margin.
• Lillis not only defended his 2022 Olympic gold in mixed aerials, he also headed off right-wing mockery after MAGA — including his own U.S. senator, Republican Mike Lee — lashed out at him for saying Americans should respect human rights.

🏒 Hilary Knight made history as the most decorated American hockey player in Olympic history, captaining Team USA to a nail-biting gold against Canada and securing her fifth Olympic medal.

• It's not the only bling she and speed skater Brittany Bowe are bringing back to their SLC home. Knight proposed to Bowe the night before the final — a feat more nerve-wracking, she said, than leading her team against the country that invented their sport.
• Meanwhile, the Utah Mammoth's Clayton Keller joined the men's team's overtime victory over Canada in Sunday's gold medal game.

🦅 Former Westminster Griffin Alex Ferreira took to the skies and landed with gold in Friday's men's freeski halfpipe.

More medals

🗻 Avalanches since last week's snowstorms have killed an 11-year-old girl near Brighton, buried and injured two men in Big Cottonwood Canyon and buried two men in separate slides in Wasatch County. (FOX 13)

• One of the snowmobilers died last week; the other remained missing as of Sunday night.

🔑 A bill that would allow rent payments to boost Utahns' credit scores and help them secure lower interest mortgages is unlikely to pass after lawmakers last week voted to hold it in committee. (KSL)

💧 The Great Salt Lake is projected to reach record lows this year despite last week's snowfall. (Utah News Dispatch)

Utah lawmakers are moving to roll back a brand-new law that requires restaurants to the check IDs of every customer who orders alcohol — no matter their age.

State of play: The universal ID requirement, which took effect Jan. 1, was included in the state's annual alcohol omnibus bill aimed at curbing underage drinking.

• If the new bill passes, restaurants can return to the old policy and skip ID checks for customers who appear to be over 35.
• Universal ID checks regardless of how old a customer looks would still be required at bars and stores selling alcohol.

The big picture: The new law prompted eye rolls from many people already fed up with Utah's strict drinking rules, which include bans on happy hour specials and limits on pours of base liquors to 1.5 ounces.

What they're saying: "That was never the intent of the bill," H.B. 59's sponsor, Rep. Steve Eliason (R-Sandy) told the House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee on Friday.

• Michele Corigliano, executive director of the Salt Lake Area Restaurant Association, voiced support for the bill during the hearing.
• She said it's been difficult receiving repeated calls from business owners who turned away large parties of customers because a senior member of the group wasn't carrying an ID.

What's next: The bill passed unanimously out of the panel and now heads to the House floor for further debate.

Pass it on