THE U.S. RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE
IS THE U.S. A "CHRISTIAN NATION"?
Today, only 40% of Americans agree that God has granted the U.S. a special role in human history, while 58% disagree. This is the first time that a majority have disagreed with this statement, since PRRI first asked this question, in 2011. Even as recently as 2016, 57% of Americans agreed with the statement, while 36% disagreed. The share of Americans who completely disagree (40%) has nearly doubled since the question was last asked, in the lead-up to the 2016 election (22%).
Nearly two-thirds of Republicans (64%) agree that God has granted the U.S. a special role in human history, compared to about half as many independents (35%) and Democrats (32%). Since 2016, agreement with this statement among all partisan groups has decreased, shifting the most among Democrats. In 2016, three in four Republicans (76%), half of independents (50%), and a majority of Democrats (53%) agreed that God has granted the U.S. a special place in human history.
Majorities of white evangelical Protestants (71%) and Black Protestants (52%) agree that God has granted the U.S. a special role in history. Only 35% of white Catholics, 32% of white mainline Protestants, and 15% of religiously unaffiliated Americans agree with the statement.
According to the Public Religion Research Institute's 2020 survey, more than one-third (36%) of Americans say this country has always been and is currently a Christian nation. Four in ten (40%) say it was a Christian nation but no longer is, and about one in five (22%) say the U.S. has never been a Christian nation. Between 2010 and 2015, the belief that the U.S. is a Christian nation declined, from 42% to 35%, before rising to 41% in 2016.
About half of Republicans (49%) say the U.S. is a Christian nation, compared to 35% of independents and 30% of Democrats. Four in ten Republicans (43%) say the U.S. was a Christian nation but is no longer, and among that group, 16% say that is a good thing, while 82% say it is a bad thing. Similar numbers of independents (41%) and Democrats (39%) say the U.S. is no longer a Christian nation but are much more divided on whether this is a good thing (43% for independents, 55% for Democrats) or a bad thing (57% for independents, 43% for Democrats). Democrats (28%) are more likely than independents (22%) and Republicans (7%) to say the U.S. has never been a Christian nation.
Less than half of all white Christian groups say the U.S. has always been and currently is a Christian nation. This includes 49% of white Catholics, 44% of white mainline Protestants, and 42% of white evangelical Protestants. Black Protestants are somewhat more likely to say the U.S. was but is no longer a Christian nation (44%) than that it is currently a Christian nation (35%). Similarly, 31% of Hispanic Catholics say the U.S. is a Christian nation, while 42% say it no longer is. Hispanic Protestants are more divided, as 40% say it is currently a Christian nation and 38% say it used to be. About one-third of non-Christian religious Americans (32%) and religiously unaffiliated Americans (38%) say the U.S. has never been a Christian nation.
MOST BELIEVE IN AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM
More than six in ten (62%) Americans believe that God has granted America a special role in human history, while roughly one-third (33%) disagree. Views have not shifted significantly in recent years. In 2012, an identical number of Americans (62%) agreed that the U.S. was granted a special role in human history. There are sharp differences on this question by political ideology and religious affiliation.
Conservatives are nearly twice as likely as liberals to agree that God has granted the U.S. a special role in human history—80% of conservatives and only 45% of liberals agree with this statement. Half (50%) of liberals reject the notion that the country has a divinely sanctioned role in human history.
White evangelical Protestants are unique among religious Americans in their affirmation of American exceptionalism. More than eight in ten (83%) white evangelical Protestants agree that God has granted the country a special role in human history. Seven in ten non-white Protestants (73%) and Catholics (70%) and a majority (56%) of white mainline Protestants also believe in a divinely chosen role for the U.S. In contrast, a majority (53%) of religiously unaffiliated Americans disagree that God granted the U.S. a special role, compared to fewer than four in ten (39%) who agree.
Americans are proud of their national identity. In fact, few Americans report a time when they were not proud to be an American. More than six in ten (63%) Americans say there has never been a time in their life when they have not felt proud about being American. Roughly one-third (35%) say that at some point, they did not feel proud of their nationality.
More than eight in ten (83%) Americans say that it is important to publicly show support for the U.S. by doing things such as displaying the American flag; only 14% of the public disagree. Across political and religious spectrums, Americans embrace the importance of public demonstrations of patriotism.
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE PERCEPTION BY RELIGION
GENERAL CENSUS INFO
