Christians More Patriotic, Says Survey
Christians are more likely to believe America is the best country in the world, according to a Pew Research Center Poll.
Over 1,500 Americans were asked questions about their views of the U.S. The survey found that 90 percent of respondents believed America was the best or one of the best countries on the planet.
Of Christians, 52 percent of white evangelicals said the U.S. was the unparalleled best country in the world – compared to 40 percent of the general population that shared the same patriotic view.
About a third of Protestants and mainline Christians, both black and white, said they thought the U.S. is the best country in the world. Around 40 percent of Catholics are as patriotic.
The Pew results, obtained by Christianity Today, suggested a correlation between religiousness and patriotism. However, researchers believe there is danger in mistaking correlation with causation – many variables such as race, gender, age, wealth and location are important in determining one’s patriotism.
Among those without religion, only 20 percent said the U.S. is the unparalleled best country in the world. Another 20 percent said that there are other countries in the world whose greatness equals that of the U.S.
According to another Pew Research poll earlier this year, 18 percent of Americans are white evangelical Protestants. The group makes up 40 percent of hard-line Republicans.
Conversely, liberal-leaning Americans are less likely to attend religious events than their conservative compatriots.
The poll is especially prescient after Washington recently voted to uphold “In God We Trust” as the national motto. The controversy set off a firestorm between those who view the motto as the founding statement of our nation, and those who feel it is a violation of the separation of church and state.
Besides evangelicals, Christians of all denominations and religiousness thought the U.S. was at least equal to the best countries in the world. Only 5 percent of all Christians believed there were better countries than the U.S.
