New poll: 29% of Americans espouse Christian nationalism, unchanged from 2023

by Don Byrd | Feb 14, 2025

A large survey of Americans conducted by Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) over much of 2024 indicates that the percentage of Americans who appear to be adherents of (10%) or at least sympathetic to (19%) Christian nationalism principles remains low and essentially unchanged from their previous survey released last year.

Of those who fall into that 29% of Americans most strongly aligned with the ideology of Christian nationalism, PRRI released some disturbing findings:

2/3 of that group agreed that “God ordained Donald Trump to be the winner of the 2024 election”
More than 1/3 of that group believes that Americans “may need to resort to violence in order to save our country”
Nearly 2/3 of that group agrees that “immigrants are invading our country and replacing our cultural and ethnic background”

PRRI questioned 22,000 Americans in all 50 states, and it measured support for Christian nationalism views by asking each participant whether and to what extent they agreed or disagreed with five core beliefs tied to Christian nationalism:

God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society.
The U.S. government should declare America a Christian nation.
Being Christian is an important part of being truly American.
If the U.S. moves away from our Christian foundations, we will not have a country anymore.
S. laws should be based on Christian values.

The survey generated state-level estimates of support for Christian nationalism. They write:

The states with the highest levels of support for Christian nationalism, which includes about half of their residents, are Mississippi (51%), Oklahoma (51%), Louisiana (50%), Arkansas (49%), West Virginia (48%), and North Dakota (46%). At the other end of the spectrum, there are five states in which less than two in ten residents hold Christian nationalist views: New Jersey (19%), Vermont (19%), Rhode Island (17%), Washington (16%), and Massachusetts (15%). The only state that registers a statistically significant increase in support for Christian nationalism is Maryland, from 19% in 2023 to 30% in 2024.

Debunking the beliefs of Christian nationalism remains a central challenge today for Christians who believe in religious freedom for all.

Being a Christian is not the same thing as being American. It is essential for the vitality of both that we defend that principle and push back against attempts to combine our patriotic and our religious loyalties. Both our soul freedom and our religious freedom depend on it. Want to make your voice heard? Check out BJC’s Christians Against Christian Nationalism movement, and see how you can get involved.