U.S. Evangelical Leaders Most Admire the U.K Government
A survey has found that aside from the U.S., evangelical leaders most admire the government of the United Kingdom.
When posed the question, “other than the United States of America, what government in the world do you most admire?” U.S. evangelical leaders named the U.K. 27 percent of the time. After the U.K. other respected governments were Israel at 23 percent, Canada at 19 percent, Australia at 15 percent and Germany at 8 percent.
According to the National Association of Evangelicals that conducted the survey, U.S. evangelical leaders favor countries similar to the United States, with strong Christian histories and strong democracies.
The U.K. in particular is a parliamentary democracy. Like the U.S., citizens of the U.K. practice an array of different religions, but Christianity of various denominations remains enduring.
“Love for country and patriotism is a common characteristic of American Christians,” said NAE president, Leith Anderson. “We are also ‘world Christians’ who care about other nations and are open to learning from and blessing other nations.”
NAE vice president of government relations, Galen Carey told The Christian Post that as U.S. evangelicals have had a significant influence on the world, the association was interested in how leaders view other influential countries.
"The NAE has a wide interest in international affairs and the U.S. has a big role in the world. We wanted to get a sense of what leaders are thinking about other countries," he said.
Carey pinpointed a strong belief in religious freedoms as another major appeal the U.K. government has to U.S. evangelical leaders.
U.K. and U.S evangelicals have collaborated for many years; Carey details. Such missions as Cheer Fund UK and Micah Challenge International have been spearheaded by evangelicals from both countries.
He also noted that Americans can learn from the U.K., whom has dealt with the same religious and governmental issues that the U.S. is currently dealing with.
"Traditional beliefs are being challenged. It has been seen in the U.K. and U.S.," he said. "We can work together to keep Christian beliefs relevant."
