According to a new Pew Research study, more Americans tend to view Evangelicals less favorably than any other religious group.
The study, which was conducted in September 2022, found that a majority of Americans are neutral toward several religious groups. When it comes to evangelicals, however, about 32 percent of non-Evangelical Americans view them negatively, while 18 percent view them positively.
Along party lines, researchers who conducted the study also noted that non-evangelical Democrats (47 percent) view Evangelicals more negatively than non-Evangelical Republicans (14 percent).
As reported by The Christian Post, 35 percent of Americans hold very or somewhat favorable views towards Jews, while 6 percent held unfavorable views.
“Jews make up such a small portion of the U.S. population — about 2% — that excluding their own views makes little difference in overall public opinion toward Jews,” researchers explained.
Overall, Americans viewed Protestants and Catholics more positively than negatively, while about a quarter of all Americans held very or somewhat unfavorable views of Mormons, unlike 15 percent who said they held favorable views.
Additionally, the study found that Americans who personally know an Evangelical view them more favorably (24 percent) than those who do not personally know an Evangelical (9 percent). At the same time, however, the same group who knew Evangelicals were still more likely (35 percent) to view Evangelicals more unfavorably than those who did not know Evangelicals personally (29 percent).
Ryan Burge, a Baptist pastor and an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, told The Christian Post that the negative view toward Evangelicals has to do with their relationship to politics.
“I think for many it's the close link between Evangelicals and the Republican Party,” Burge explained. “If a respondent was a Republican, they see Evangelicals as an ally. If they aren't then they see them as an enemy.”
The Pew Research survey was conducted from Sept. 13-18, 2022, with a national representative sample of 10,588 U.S. adults.
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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
