Evangelicals list major problems facing America: survey
A new poll reveals that evangelicals view immigration, American sovereignty and abortion as the top issues facing America heading into the 2024 presidential election.
Coral Ridge Ministries has released its 2024 An Inquiry into the Spiritual State of the Nation last week, which is based on 633 responses to a questionnaire sent to “friends and supporters of Coral Ridge Ministries” each year.
“At a time when the views of pro-family evangelicals are sometimes distorted, even caricatured, this survey provides a much-needed window into what Christian conservatives actually believe,” CRM president and CEO Robert Pacienza said in a statement.
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In addition to asking respondents for their views on hot-button issues dominating political and cultural discussions in the United States, the questionnaire asked respondents to name “the three most critical issues facing the new Congress and administration.”
A majority of those surveyed (56%) cited immigration as one of the three most important issues facing the United States while 33% of respondents listed “the sovereignty of the United States.” Abortion (32%), federal spending (30%) and religious freedom (24%) rounded out the top five issues most commonly identified as issues federal leaders need to address.
Issues seen as one of the three most important issues by smaller portions of respondents include national security (21%), economy (19%), growth of socialist views (14%), protection of traditional values (14%). , transgender rights (14%), health care (13%), the racial divide (13%), the progress of radical Islam (11%) and education (6%).
The emphasis on immigration and American sovereignty as issues of importance among American evangelicals comes as the United States continues to see an exponential number of encounters between people entering the country illegally and police officers at the US-Mexico border.
Data compiled by US Customs and Border Protection shows that the number of monthly encounters reached a record 301,981 in December. Halfway through fiscal year 2024, more than 1.34 million illegal immigrants attempted to cross into the United States
Meanwhile, respondents' focus on abortion takes place several states passed abortion restrictions after the US Supreme Court decision in 2022 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which determined that the US constitution did not contain a right to abortion. Following the Dobbs decision, voters in some states approved ballot measures establishing a constitutional right to abortion. More states are set to hold similar referendums in 2024.
CRM also found that overwhelming majorities of respondents believe that “all American citizens should have religious freedom and be able to freely express it in public life” (95%) and “that radical Islam continues to pose a serious threat to America” (98). %). One hundred percent of those surveyed expressed concern about “Americans who have been taken to court or charged with hate crimes because of their conscientious objections to the moral issues of our day.”
Other themes that yielded unanimous agreement among respondents included support for the ideas that students should have “the right to pray in public school classrooms, at sporting events, and graduation ceremonies” and that every organization should have the right to “reflect its moral values in its employment and operations and to uphold its lifelong convictions in health coverage.”
Support for Israel, opposition to the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortions, demands to teach about the “damaging effect” of socialism and the right of parents to voice concerns at school board meetings without fear of prosecution by the FBI or the US Department of Justice. were also accepted by 100% of those surveyed.
A majority of respondents (68%) indicated that they had “experienced verbal or physical abuse or bias because [their] faith in Jesus Christ or for [their] conservative Christian views.” Even larger majorities opposed establishing a definition of “hate speech” to be monitored by the federal government (92%), pursuing an “open borders” immigration policy (97%) and codifying a right to abortion into federal law ( 98%).
Additional questions related to schools and education revealed strong opposition to sex education that includes information about homosexuality (89%), allowing students to “choose” their pronouns without parental consent (90%) and sex education that teaches about “transgender research and surgery” (92%).
When asked to identify “major threats” to the United States, 100% chose Iran and open borders while 97% chose China, 94% chose radical Islam and Hamas as well as socialism, 90% named Russia, 87% cited the United Nations and 84.% showed to North Korea.
Source: www.christianpost.com