Study finds Christian nationalists claim pluralism yet feel threatened by other groups

In a new article in the journal Politics & Religion, scholars examined attitudes of 1,500 U.S. Christians surveyed in January 2024. Participants rated their agreement with statements about declaring the United States a Christian nation (average score 0.64) and with principles of religious neutrality and neighborly love (average score 0.74). Despite this apparent support for pluralism, respondents who strongly endorsed a Christian nation also expressed heightened fears that groups they disliked posed a danger to the American way of life.

Statistical models showed that such threat perceptions kept tolerance levels flat among strong nationalists, whereas strong opponents of nationalism displayed increased tolerance when they favored pluralism. The authors argue that the root of intolerance lies in perceived persecution rather than a deficit of pluralist values, highlighting the role of Christian media narratives that portray believers as marginalized. They call for further research on the sources of threat feelings and how faith leaders might mitigate them.