Survey: A Majority of White Evangelicals Fear Immigration and Racial Diversity

White Protestants are by far the largest group of people that believes immigration and increased racial diversity are harmful to America. That’s one of the main findings from PRRI’s 2018 American Values Survey.

While white Protestants are divided in their views of this policy, Catholics, nonwhite Christians, and religiously unaffiliated Americans oppose the passage of a law preventing refugees from entering the U.S. About six in ten white Catholics (57%), Hispanic Catholics (62%), and Hispanic Protestants (63%) are opposed to a law that would prevent refugees from entering the U.S., along with about seven in ten black Protestants (70%) and religiously unaffiliated Americans (72%). A slim majority (51%) of white evangelical Protestants favor this policy, although a similar number (49%) are opposed. White mainline Protestants are also divided, with 47% in support of a law preventing access for refugees and a slim majority (52%) opposed.

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With the exception of white evangelical Protestants, all other major religious groups believe that the country’s racial and ethnic realignment will be mostly positive. Majorities of Hispanic Catholics (81%), black Protestants (80%), religiously unaffiliated Americans (74%), white Catholics (51%), and white mainline Protestants (51%) believe that this change will be mostly positive, while less than half (44%) of white evangelical Protestants hold this view. A majority (54%) of white evangelical Protestants say that becoming majority-nonwhite nation in the future will be mostly negative.

Samuel Smith of the Christian Post also noted other ways white evangelicals stand apart from the crowd:

The research shows that white evangelical Protestants are at odds with all other identified religious groups on many questions relating to immigration, race, the #MeToo movement and President Donald Trump.

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While a majority of all other religious demographics have unfavorable views of President Donald Trump, 68 percent of white evangelicals hold a favorable view of the Republican president. Meanwhile, 80 percent of black Protestants, 75 percent of religiously unaffiliated, 74 percent of Hispanic Catholics, 73 percent of non-Christian religious Americans, 52 percent of white mainline Protestants and white Catholics hold a negative opinion of Trump.

It’s worth noting that white Protestants are currently the group with the most social, economic, and political power. It makes sense, then, that they’re the ones who feel most threatened by anything that suggests equality. When you’re king of the hill, everyone else is a potential threat. When others clamor for equality, they see it as oppression.

No wonder 57% of white evangelicals said “immigrants threaten traditional Americans customs and values.”

The results are sadly ironic from a group that worships a brown guy from the Middle East, famous for saying “The last shall be first, and the first shall be last.” According to Jesus, real power is found not in trampling the little people to get to the top, but in embracing weakness.

These evangelicals, though, would probably write off Jesus as a socialist liberal if he came back today. That is if they recognized Him at all. It should be a red flag to Christians everywhere when outsiders do a better job of living out their supposed values than they do.