Most White Evangelicals Are Not Happy About America's Increasing Religious Diversity

A recent study revealed that white Evangelicals are among the least likely to be "proud" of the U.S.' increasing religious diversity.

New research coming from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and Interfaith America has revealed that while a vast majority of Americans feel "proud" of how much the country has become increasingly religiously diverse, a portion of white Evangelical and Hispanic Protestants are unhappy about it. The joint American Values Survey was conducted on more than 2,508 respondents in 50 states between September 16 and 29, 2021.

According to the Christian Post, the survey found that 70% of respondents said they were proud to be part of a nation that is becoming more religiously diverse. Up to 77% of white mainline (non-Evangelical) Protestants, 74% of Hispanic Catholics, 73% of white Catholics, and 66% of black Protestants believed the same.

On the contrary, 53% of white Evangelical Protestants and 41% of Hispanic Protestants were less likely than other religious groups to say that they were proud of America becoming more religiously diverse. Meanwhile, up to 78% of religiously unaffiliated Americans and 86% of non-Christian religious Americans agreed with that statement.

America is Becoming More Religiously Diverse Regardless of Opinions

Eboo Patel, founder and president of Interfaith America, explained that America is "the world's first attempt at religiously diverse democracy" and "the most religiously diverse nation in human history." He believed it was the time to "write the chapter after Judeo-Christian in the great story of American diversity."

The recent study also cited a PRRI survey conducted in August 2021 which found that among more than 5,415 respondents, two-thirds of Americans do not agree with the idea that "God intended America to be a new promised land where European Christians could create a society that could be an example to the rest of the world."

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The survey found that only 31% of all Americans agreed with the statement while 52% of white Evangelical Protestants forming the only religious majority said the same.

According to a comparison of data from Pew Research Center surveys, PRRI surveys and the PRRI American Values Atlas, the number of Americans who identify as "white Christians" has decreased from 59% in 2004 to 44% in 2021. The biggest decreases occurred during the Obama administration from 2008 to 2016. In 2010, about 53% identified as white Christians versus 43% in 2016 before the trend flattened out following Obama's era.

Conversely, the number of American Christians of color increased from nearly 15% in 1990 to 25% in 2021, as per the 1990 General Social Survey and the 2021 American Values Atlas.

Many Religious Groups Believe America is Losing Its Culture and Identity

According to the PRRI American Values Survey, the majority of many religious groups believe that "America is in danger of losing its culture and identity." Among those who said they agreed with this statement are 78% of white Evangelical Protestants, 64% of white Catholics, 59% of white mainline (non-Evangelical) Protestants and 52% of black Protestants.