about three-quarters of U.S. adults (77%) say that churches and other houses of worship should not endorse candidates for political offices. Two-thirds (67%) say that religious institutions should keep out of political matters rather than expressing their views on day-to-day social or political questions.
As with most articles online, the real headline is: Deliberately Misleading Headline Obscures More Complicated Reality.
No, 45% of people in the US don’t support christian nationalism.
Considering that only ~22% of the population voted for trump in 2020, I’d guess that maybe a third to a half of that 45% just think the words christian and nation both sound like good things and responded yes without any real awareness of what a christian nation would mean in reality.
The questions were asked to make a clickbait article.
45% of respondents said America should be a “Christian Nation”.
The problem with that question is that “Christian Nation” is a vague term that’s only really loaded for all the non-Christian’s.
Christian’s understanding of the term range from christofascist’s version of Sharia law through the more nuanced and relatively benign idea that everyone should be converted to Christianity and in that sense be a “Christian” nation while nominally maintaining separation of church and state.
You can see that in demographics of the US’s faith which is still something like 68% “Christian” (a large percentage of which probably are at best non practicing or people who are “Christian” in the sense that’s what their parents told them and they never thought about it)
Conveniently left out are the survey results with “Christian nationalists” instead. Though, 66% say churches should stay out of politics and 77% say they shouldn’t endorse candidates; suggesting a distinction there; and of the people who say the us should be Christian… over half said it should not be public.
the more nuanced and relatively benign idea that everyone should be converted to Christianity and in that sense be a “Christian” nation while nominally maintaining separation of church and state.
Forcible conversion and theocracy is benign and nuanced to you?
Nope.
But the more benign ones won’t “force” it, so much as just try and annoy the fuck out of everyone. They’re largely of the belief that it’s inevitable, all they have to do is keep doing what they’re doing and everybody will just convert… because something.
It’s like that guy who believe everyone should be NFL fans for…whatever reason.
Which is, of course, my entire point. There’s different perspectives on what “christian nation” even means to them. ranging from the relatively benign “we should just convince everyone to be christians” through to the “every one whose not should be beheaded.”… and I think you knew that. I’m not defending christianity- it’s awful. But, that study had some glaringly bad decisions in questions.