“Evangelicals support Donald Trump and are against abortion and immigration and for the right to bear arms. They are usually fanatical about issues they support.” – Jamie, 63-year-old white woman, non-Evangelical Protestant, moderate Republican from Alabama
“I don’t think God is aligned with a political party… God is welcoming of all different people of all political beliefs. He doesn’t just love Republicans or doesn’t just love Democrats or any other political party.” – Douglas, 56-year-old white man, Evangelical Christian, very conservative Republican from Georgia
One characteristic of a deeply polarized society is that opposing groups often hold distorted views of their opponents, vastly overestimating the extent to which the other side holds extreme views. We can better understand the root causes of conflict, and how we might change those dynamics, when we identify the misperceptions—or perception gaps—which lie behind the animosity and fears between different groups.
At More in Common, we seek to bridge divides and promote pluralism by highlighting how Americans misperceive one another. In our newest report, we find significant perception gaps relating to faith in America today. We examine how Americans are navigating the country’s deep polarization from the perspective of their faith identities and explore not only how groups perceive—and often misperceive—one another, but also the consequences of those assumptions.
“I think [being a good Christian] has to do with your moral compass, not a political party.” – Brenda, 49-year-old Black woman, Evangelical Christian, moderate Democrat from Pennsylvania
Despite what we often see online or in the news, most Americans aren’t driven by politics when it comes to their faith. In fact, many of the things we’ve been led to believe about religious groups are false impressions.
In our report, we consider three big myths:
1: “Faith is all about politics.”
I don’t know if synagogue is the right place for political discussion. I’m not necessarily going to my rabbis for their political views. I think that with certain events, like with October 7, [I would prefer] more [discussions] on the religious level, not so much on the political level. More of “how we can grow from this,” what to pray for, as opposed to “what’s the president doing”, because ultimately, that’s the rabbi’s role. His role is to guide us in Judaism and to be the source of strength. – Rebecca, 27-year-old white woman, Orthodox Jewish, conservative Republican from Illinois
“I think a good Christian is much more complicated than just being liberal, conservative, Republican, or Democrat. Good Christians are concerned with the wellbeing of all people, regardless of sexual orientation, race, views towards abortion, etc. I think loving your enemy is what Jesus wants us to do. We don’t have to agree with them, but we treat them as human beings. We recognize their humanity. Maybe one day they’ll believe what we believe. Maybe they never will. But it’s our purpose to be disciples for Jesus to do that. – Leroy, 73-year-old Black man, non-Evangelical Protestant, moderate Democrat from Georgia
There are big gaps between most Americans’ perceptions and the reality of the role of politics in religious life, especially as it relates to Evangelical Christian communities. Our research found that non-Evangelicals significantly overestimate the importance Evangelicals place on their political identity and partisan affiliation. For example, non-Evangelicals overestimate by ten times how much Evangelicals say political party affiliation is their most important identity (41 percent estimate versus 4 percent in reality).
Non-Evangelicals also often overestimate the percentage of Evangelicals who are Republican (63 percent estimate versus 46 percent in reality). These misperceptions carry significant consequences. Our research found that Democrats and Independents who overestimate the percentage of Republicans among Evangelicals tend to have more negative views towards all Evangelicals. We call this phenomenon “collateral contempt”—the tendency for animosity towards political opponents to spill over to religious groups that are perceived to be aligned with one political team. In our climate of heightened political polarization, political association can lead to generalized hostility towards entire faith communities based on their supposed political affiliation.
2: “Faith is becoming irrelevant in Americans’ lives.”
“I don’t particularly go to a church per se. I have a cathedral of my mind, meaning I could practice my religion anywhere, any time of the day. Basically, I carry my religion with how I treat my fellow man, how I carry myself. I really don’t see myself going physically to a church.” – Earl, 71-year-old Black man, Catholic, liberal Democrat from New York
“I think there might be blurry lines between tradition and what religion is. As younger people we might be less traditional. But I personally don’t think that that should affect how important religion is because there’s a difference between your relationship with the religion and with Allah and then traditions. So just because you don’t follow some of the old traditions doesn’t really mean that you don’t find that religion important to you.” – Kiara, 24-year-old Asian American woman, Muslim, very liberal Democrat from Minnesota
Americans also have significant perception gaps when it comes to understanding how important faith is to their fellow citizens, especially to younger generations. Reports about the increase in religious “nones”—the population who identify as having no religious affiliation—and declining membership of some Mainline Protestant churches do capture important trends in American society. But this narrative belies the value Americans, especially younger Americans, still place on personal faith and belonging to faith communities. In fact, our research found that most Americans (73 percent) see their faith as an important part of who they are. Younger generations of Jewish and Muslim Americans, in particular, value their Jewish and Muslim identity much more than commonly assumed.
“I feel like when my parents were my age, they were very private about being Jewish. They were always very protective and very reserved about their Judaism. But I feel like as [the younger generation] learn more and more about Judaism, we feel a connection spiritually that makes us want to share with the world what we as Jews are going through and how we feel about our Judaism. I feel like we’re a lot stronger and prouder and want to show everybody else what we have to offer to the world.” – Tamar, 25-year-old white woman, Orthodox Jewish, conservative Republican from New Jersey
3: “Religious Americans are intolerant.”
“[When I see the term “Evangelical Christians” I think of] born-again Christians that have become Christian Nationalists who think that the government should be Christian and religion comes before all else. [I think of] their religion and their narrow minded point of view. They do not believe in the separation of church and state as clearly defined in the constitution.” – Steve, 72-year-old white man, liberal Democrat from California
“The United States was built on the premise of freedom of religion as well as other freedoms and rights. Everyone and their beliefs are equal and we should be tolerant and accepting of each other.” – Taylor, 67-year-old white man, Evangelical Christian, conservative Republican from California
“We should be a melting pot for religious beliefs as well as no religious beliefs.” – Tyler, 62-year-old white man, Catholic, conservative Republican from New Jersey
“There is no theology that makes you American or makes you more American than other people. I think it can probably be helpful to understand Christianity because our country was founded on some religious principles. But I don’t think that you have to be a certain religion or have any religious affiliation at all to be a true American and be patriotic.” – Trevor, 29-year-old white man, Latter-day Saint, slightly conservative Independent from Utah
Americans also have sizable perception gaps on issues concerning the role of religion in public life, and often misperceive religious Americans to be broadly intolerant of other faiths. The majority of Americans across religious groups value religious pluralism and want the United States to be a place where people of all religions feel that they belong. This ideal is shared by the majority of American Evangelicals (78 percent) and Muslims (75 percent) – yet, the general public imagines that only around half of Evangelicals and Muslims are supportive of religious pluralism.
At the same time, many Americans see the United States as a country founded on values inspired by Christian principles, often citing the religious beliefs of some Founding Fathers and some of the ideals embedded in the founding documents. However, most do not see a conflict between recognizing the many ways in which Christianity shaped America through past centuries, and their personal commitment to building a pluralistic society. Very few support exclusionary measures that prioritize the rights of one religious group over others, such as requiring religious qualifications for elected office.
This duality in Americans’ beliefs underscores the need to draw a clear distinction between Americans who believe it is important to recognize the distinctive history of Christianity in America, and those who are supportive of exclusionary policies based on religious beliefs and ethnic origins.
“There’s definitely a lot of misinformation, but there’s also some sly comments made by Hollywood. There’s these undercurrents of where our religion is made fun of and referenced that way. And that’s a little unsettling because you feel like we’re being mocked… [It makes] you feel like our culture and our religion is attacked and not really fully understood.” – Tiffany, 41-year-old white woman, Latter-day Saint, conservative Republican from Idaho
Perceptions that faith is all about politics, decline, or intolerance, flatten the rich diversity of faith communities into simplistic caricatures. These distortions are evidenced by the more than half of American Evangelicals, Jews, Muslims, and Latter-day Saints who feel that their groups are judged more than others. Around two thirds of Muslims, Latter-day Saints, and Evangelicals feel misrepresented by political and media elites.
“Now that I wear more modest clothes, people in the city, like Borough Park in Brooklyn, know what a Jew looks like. So I do get looks. Sometimes I get nasty looks. Sometimes people will say something to me, especially like now. Someone recently was trying to spit on me and say “you filthy Jew.” I hope that people aren’t doing this to other Jewish girls that can’t defend themselves sometimes.” – Shayna, 23-year-old mixed-race woman, Orthodox Jewish, moderate Independent from New York
“I feel like, especially CNN and on the news networks, since I’ve been growing up, since September 11, Muslims are just always talked about and it’s never a good piece. But we’re also your neighbor. For me personally, my name is not actually Bruno. My name is actually Mohammed, which is a Muslim name. But I’ve had to create a barrier because I get judged off of my name right away. Like, if I put it on a form, then I don’t get said opportunities because of my name.” – Bruno, 34-year-old Black man, Muslim, conservative Republican, from California
For Jewish and Muslim Americans, the feelings of being misunderstood and misrepresented are compounded by threats to their physical safety. Over four in ten Muslims and Jews in America feel or have felt unsafe in the past year due to their religious identity. Many have at times felt hesitant to share their Muslim or Jewish identity. The sense of insecurity, anxiety, and alienation has only intensified after the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, the subsequent war in Gaza, and increased incidents of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate crimes in the U.S.
False perceptions not only make many faithful Americans feel misunderstood; they also obscure the common civic and moral values shared by Americans regardless of religious affiliation. And this common ground is abundant. Around nine in ten Americans, including the overwhelming majority across faith traditions, say that believing in freedom of speech, equal rights for all, freedom of religion, and accepting people of diverse racial and religious backgrounds is important to being American. Most Americans also value kindness to others and respect for human dignity, whether as part of their faith or personal convictions. This substantive commonality in what people think it means to be a moral person and lead a good life is often underappreciated.
When we steer away from misperceptions and stop seeing faith through a political lens, we open ourselves to hearing new stories that humanize fellow Americans. In a moment defined by polarization and fracture, many of the values and life goals that Americans cherish transcend religious boundaries, and could be used as a basis for more productive dialogue and relationship-building between different communities.
0 Comments