Additionally, PRRI released a new report mapping Americans’ views on LGBTQ rights across all 50 states using data from the 2025 PRRI American Values Atlas. As Newsweek reported, “A majority of Americans support same-sex marriage (65%),” though this number has decreased from 69% in 2022.

NPR reported that majorities of nearly all religious groups support nondiscrimination laws for LGBTQ people, though support is significantly higher among the religiously unaffiliated (82%) and non-Christians (79%), followed by Christians of color (71%) and white Christians (66%).

More to Know:

PRRI’s latest survey, “Immigration Enforcement, ICE, and Civil Liberties in the Second Trump Administration,” shows that support for Trump’s immigration policies is waning.

Jones and Deckman were joined by the , ELCA pastor and writer, Jack Jenkins, national reporter for Religion News Service, and Brian Fraga, staff reporter at National Catholic Reporter, to discuss how Americans are viewing President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration. Watch their conversation:

Taking a Deeper Dive:

On Substack, , , and wrote about PRRI’s new survey findings. Read their analyses:

• Letters From an American: March 27, 2026

• The Contrarian: Trump Blew It on Immigration

• Paul Krugman: The End of Immigration

PRRI In the News:

• PRRI President and Founder , Ph.D., and presented their monthly “Countering White Christian Nationalism” segment on with Senior Democracy Fellow . Citing PRRI’s latest data on Trump’s approval ratings, Jones said, “Trump’s favorability rating is down to 36%. It’s the lowest we’ve measured in PRRI polling.” Jones also joined “State of Belief” and wrote about “Autocratization in the USA” at .

• PRRI CEO , Ph.D., was featured in reporting by the Associated Press about progressive clergy running as Democrats in the 2026 elections. Deckman stated, “Because there’s been the tendency to define Christianity as very conservative and with a Christian nationalist lens, I think you are seeing people on the Democratic side saying, ‘Wait a minute. There are different ways to think about how our faith informs our policy.’” She also spoke to Rolling Stone about Louisiana’s 10 Commandments Law and was a guest on the Faithful Politics podcast.

• Senior Democracy Fellow , Ph.D., wrote about the intersection between Christian nationalism, public education, and disability rights, and Affiliated Scholar Eric McDaniel, Ph.D., spoke to Texas Standard about the role Black voters will play in deciding who wins the upcoming Senate race in Texas.

• PRRI Public Fellows Lauren Griffin, Ph.D., published an op-ed at Religion Dispatches about the U.S. attack on Iran and internet “meme culture,” and Will McCorkle, Ph.D., wrote about efforts to make access to public K-12 education dependent on immigration status at The Conversation.

Also This Month:

1. People: Trump Claims Americans Want ICE in Airports as He Praises Their Muscles

2. NPR: As Birthright Citizenship Goes to the Supreme Court, Here’s How Americans Feel About It

3. HuffPost: New Survey Reveals an Alarming Number of Women Support Christian Nationalism

4. The Guardian: ‘A very dangerous person’: alarm as Pete Hegseth revels in carnage of Iran war

5. Bloomberg: Trump’s Immigration Raids Are Reshaping the Catholic Vote

Thank you to PRRI’s Senior Democracy Fellows and Public Fellows who traveled to Washington, D.C., for their annual convenings this month! During their time together, the fellows shared insights with one another, connected over new ideas, and discussed ideas for future work.

This month, PRRI released a major survey mapping Americans’ views on Christian nationalism across all 50 states using data from the 2025 PRRI American Values Atlas. As USA Today reported, “Around 3 in 10 Americans are adherents of or sympathetic to Christian nationalism,” findings that are generally consistent with past years’ data.

Religion News Service shared the new data, noting that Americans who report praying or reading the Bible more frequently are more likely to qualify as Christian nationalism supporters.

PRRI CEO , Ph.D., told RNS, “Christian nationalism is an ideology or worldview that really is connected to partisanship today, and it helps to explain the policies that we’re seeing put into action. When more than half of Republicans qualify as Christian nationalists, it really tells you a lot about what we’re seeing legislatively and from the executive branch.” The report was also covered in Axios, Baptist News Global, and News From the States.

Taking a Deeper Dive:

Jones and Deckman were joined by NYU Professor of History and Italian Studies and PRRI Senior Democracy Fellow Fr. Bryan Massingale to discuss PRRI’s new report. Watch their conversation:

More to Know:

As the 2026 Winter Olympics kicked off, CNN Chief Data Analyst Henry Enten reported on the low levels of pride that young adults and Democrats have in being American. Citing PRRI data, Enten highlighted Democrats’ steep decrease, with the percentage of Democrats who say they are extremely or very proud to be an American dropping from 83% in 2013 to a record low of 31% in late 2025.

PRRI In the News:

• At his newly renamed “Redeeming Democracy” Substack, PRRI President and Founder , Ph.D., shared his President’s Day conversation with constitutional law expert Kim Wehle, as well as his latest “Countering White Christian Nationalism” segment on . Discussing the Texas Democratic Senate primary race with , Jones said, “These are two really strong up-and-coming candidates that the nation is watching.”

• PRRI CEO , Ph.D., joined the Straight White American Jesus podcast to discuss PRRI’s new report on Christian nationalism. Discussing overlap between Christian nationalism and other policy positions during a live conversation with , Deckman pointed out, “After Roe, those states that have essentially banned the procedure [abortion] are states that have a lot of Christian nationalism Adherents.”

• PRRI Senior Democracy Fellow wrote an op-ed with the Rev in Newsweek pushing back against the religious nationalist movement, and Senior Democracy Fellow appeared on Illinois Public Media’s The 21^st Show to discuss evangelical Protestants’ support for Trump.

• An op-ed published in the Charleston City Paper by PRRI Public Fellow Will McCorkle, Ph.D., questions a South Carolina bill that would require the Ten Commandments in every classroom, and PRRI affiliated scholar Leah Payne, Ph.D., wrote about Turning Point USA’s alternative “All-American” halftime show at MS Now. Additionally, new writing from former PRRI Public Fellows Laura Alexander, Ph.D., and Aaron Griffith, Th.D., appeared in The Conversation and RNS.

Also This Month:

1. CNN: How popular are Democrats’ shutdown demands on immigration?

2. Newsweek: On Presidents Day, independents are becoming great again

3. Deseret News: Silver linings: To believe or not to believe

4. Bloomberg: Democrats Are Turning the Tables on Immigration

5. The 19th News: Women are just as likely as men to hold Christian nationalist views

This month, PRRI released a new national survey exploring Americans’ views on causes and justifications for political violence, whether violence may be needed to save the country, and who is most responsible for political violence. Noting that “political violence in the United States has been rising for several years,” The Washington Post reported that “a majority of Americans blame artificial intelligence-generated misinformation and political leaders’ failure to condemn violent language from their supporters for the political violence in society.”

As , CEO of PRRI, explained,

“This is telling us that Americans would like political leaders to step up and to condemn violence when it’s happening.”

Deckman was joined by two PRRI Affiliated Scholars, Eric McDaniel, Ph.D., and Samuel Perry, Ph.D., on a webinar to discuss the new report’s findings. The panelists discussed why young people may be more willing to justify acts of violence than older Americans, shifts in partisan support for political violence depending on who is in office, and different views on political violence across racial groups and Christian nationalism groups.

Webinar speakers: Samuel Perry, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma, Eric McDaniel, Ph.D., Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin, and Melissa Deckman, Ph.D., CEO of PRRI

Taking a Deeper Dive:

Americans are divided along partisan lines in their views about causes of political violence, including the role that public displays of hate symbols play in provoking political violence, with three in four Democrats (76%) agreeing that such symbols contribute a lot to political violence, compared with roughly half of Republicans (51%). Read more from PRRI’s new report: Political Violence in America: Public Perceptions, Polarization, and Accountability.

More to Know:

At Salon, Chauncey DeVega analyzes Americans’ responses to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign in the aftermath of Alex Pretti’s killing in Minneapolis. DeVega writes that PRRI’s recent immigration report reveals the extent to which Trump’s supporters support his mass deportation campaign. According to PRRI data, the majority of Republicans support arresting and detaining immigrants who do not have a criminal record (61%), compared with only one in three Americans overall (33%) and 12% of Democrats.

PRRI In the News:

• PRRI President and Founder , Ph.D., discussed how President Donald Trump has used white Christians’ fear to ignite violence and division within the U.S. at Zeteo and spoke with THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali about the parallels between religiously motivated protesters today and historical protest movements. Jones also analyzed Democrats’ standing with white working-class voters for CNN’s Ronald Brownstein and wrote about how Trump’s dishonest statements led to the current political moment at his #WhiteTooLong Substack.

White Too Long by Robert P. Jones

Trump's Lies Are Killing Us: The Deadly Consequences of Big and Little Lies Everywhere

During the opening days of his first term, Trump achieved something remarkable: according to The New York Times, “He said something untrue, in public, every day for the first 40 days of his presidency.” His spokesperson, Kellyanne Conway, coined the Orwellian term …

Read more

3 months ago · 143 likes · 7 comments · Robert P. Jones

• PRRI CEO , Ph.D., spoke to Axios about younger Trump supporters’ views on cultural issues, explaining, “There’s deep over-concern about masculinity in the modern GOP, and younger Trump-supporting men are especially susceptible to reactionary messages about gender.”

• The Nation published PRRI Senior Democracy Fellow Rev. Canon Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas’ Martin Luther King Jr. Day sermon. In it, Douglas stated, “to remember King rightly is to refuse illusions of freedom and to stand, again and again, for the sacred humanity — and thus the freedom — of all.”

• PRRI Public Fellow Anne Whitesell, Ph.D., published a Spotlight Analysis unpacking Americans’ views on the legality of abortion, capital punishment, and assisted suicide, and discussed Indiana’s redistricting proposal on FOX19.

• PRRI Public Fellow Will McCorkle, Ph.D., published a Spotlight Analysis examining Americans’ views on detaining and deporting immigrants and explored the effect of increasingly restrictive policies on immigrant students’ ability to receive a college degree at The Conversation.

Also This Month:

1. The Washington Post: In Mamdani’s New York, Muslims become a political and demographic force'

2. Deseret News: How big is the ‘God gap’ between Republicans and Democrats?

3. Los Angeles Times: Trump tarnished the image of Christianity, and now he’s dragging down the police

4. The Guardian: Abortion may no longer be a top priority for Democratic voters ahead of 2026 midterms, polls show

5. The Atlantic: MAGA Jesus Is Not the Real Jesus

Looking Ahead:

Stay tuned for new PRRI analysis on support for Christian nationalism across all 50 states in the month ahead, and follow us on Instagram and Bluesky for more data and analysis at the intersection of religion, culture, and politics.

Last month, PRRI released the 16th annual American Values Survey (AVS) in partnership with the Brookings Institution. Reporting from The Guardian, Axios, Forbes, and The Hill cited the new survey in covering Americans’ widespread disapproval of the second Trump administration and concerns about executive overreach.

PRRI’s finding that a majority of Americans view Trump as a “dangerous dictator” was cited by several media outlets, including NBC and CNN, and prominent writers, including historian , writing in her popular Substack:

While covering the economy, tariffs, and inflation, MSNBC’s Katy Tur Reports featured the new survey finding that roughly two-thirds of Americans say the economy is going in the wrong direction (65%).

The AVS also finds that a slight majority of Americans (55%) agree that “the Supreme Court has been too willing to let President Trump expand his power.” Meanwhile, 75% of Americans agree there should be term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices, including two-thirds of Republicans (67%), a finding covered by Newsweek.

Why It Matters:

• 62% of Americans believe things in the country are going in the wrong direction, with majorities saying that the Trump administration cuts in federal funding for health care (60%) and universities and research institutions (55%), the implementation of new tariffs (54%), and the increase in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (52%) have gone too far.

More to Know:

Both The New York Times and CNN analyzed recent polling (including PRRI’s) on Americans’ views toward immigrants and immigration. Two-thirds of Americans (65%) oppose the U.S. government deporting undocumented immigrants to foreign prisons without allowing them to challenge their deportation in court, including 39% who strongly oppose this policy, according to PRRI data.

PRRI In the News:

• PRRI President and Founder, , Ph.D., discussed the survey findings with Jennifer Rubin, editor-in-chief of The Contrarian, and political strategist Michael Podhorzer, emphasizing the “asymmetric polarization” revealed in the new survey data: “Over and over again, we see Republicans pulling away from the center, and a huge gap between them and independents, and a much smaller gap between independents and Democrats.” Jones also appeared on the Today Show to discuss potential dangers of having Americans finding faith using A.I.: “The challenge, of course, is that we have no idea what’s under the hood, what’s creating the reality that they present.”

• PRRI CEO , Ph.D., spoke to Atlanta’s WABE radio about the process of designing and conducting the 2025 American Values Survey and the survey’s findings on Americans’ confidence in checks and balances, support for term limits for Supreme Court justices, and pride in being American. Discussing this year’s AVS findings, Deckman explained, “We have seen increasing polarization happening among partisans… Democrats and Republicans look very different.” Deckman also wrote about what the AVS findings say about the popularity of MAGA and the current state of Gen Z politics.

• At The Conversation, PRRI Public Fellow Anne Whitesell, Ph.D., explored the policy positions held by those who describe themselves as “pro-life” in the United States today, explaining, “It would be a mistake to assume that everyone in these movements adheres to one viewpoint.”

Also This Month:

1. The New York Times: How Americans Feel About Immigrants and Immigration

2. Axios: Meet chatbot Jesus: How churches are using AI to save souls

3. Religion News Service: Why Trump’s immigration crackdown may make America less Christian

4. CNN: Analysis: Trump’s boat strikes appear quite unpopular, as Americans again support due process

5. The Guardian: ‘Trump is inconsistent with Christian principles’: why the Democratic party is seeing a rise of white clergy candidates

Looking Ahead:

Join us on December 9, 2025, at 3:00 PM Eastern for the release of a new report exploring how Americans view the second Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies, due process for immigrants, birthright citizenship, and more. Register here to attend online or receive the recording.

During the past few years, PRRI surveys have tracked Americans’ support for Christian nationalism at both the national and state level, finding variations based on partisanship, media habits, and geography.

Citing data from the 2024 PRRI American Values Atlas, CNN’s Zachary B. Wolf wrote, “About half of the people in some Southern states like Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Alabama are either [Christian nationalism] adherents or sympathizers.” However, noting lower support for Christian nationalism in blue states, Wolf concluded, “a large portion of the country does not share their philosophy about the role of Christianity in the government.”

Pointing to higher-than-average support for Christian nationalism among Republicans (51% vs. 30% of all Americans), former Republican congressman looked at support for Christian nationalist ideology among the current Republican party leadership, noting:

“Senator Josh Hawley openly calls America a Christian nation. Senator Eric Schmitt insists, ‘America belongs to us [Christians], and only us.’ In the House, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert call themselves Christian nationalists and claim the church should direct government.”

Why It Matters:

• While 3 in 10 Americans qualify as Christian nationalism supporters, more than half of Americans who attend religious services weekly or more (51%) qualify as Christian nationalism supporters. Read more from Christian Nationalism Across All 50 States: Insights from PRRI’s 2024 American Values Atlas.

More to Know:

At Texas Monthly, Robert Downen published in-depth reporting on the recent appointment of David Barton, a controversial far-right political activist, to serve as an advisor to the Texas State Board of Education. Though Barton’s debunked theories on the “myth” of church-state separation have been cited by some of Texas’s most powerful Republican politicians, such views are unpopular both in Texas and nationally. More than half of Texans (58%) and two-thirds of all Americans (66%) qualify as either Christian nationalism skeptics or rejecters, according to PRRI data.

PRRI in the News:

PRRI President and Founder , Ph.D., discussed President Donald Trump’s use of evangelical Christian language around prosperity, health, and wealth with Salon’s Chauncey DeVega. Jones explained that Trump’s recent political fundraising appeal promises, “if you have enough faith, that investment will pay out, sprouting into health, wealth, and happiness.” Jones also commented on the “dangerous, authoritarian political theology” that is on a mission to transform the U.S. into a “white, Christian America” in Der Spiegel.

PRRI CEO , Ph.D., spoke to Christian Science Monitor about the widening gap between Gen Z men and women, particularly around politics, religion, and family priorities. Deckman noted,

“On the political right and in the ‘manosphere,’ there is an attempt to harken back to more traditional gender roles… the larger question is whether those ideas appeal to younger Americans, especially women.”

As the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case challenging Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth, PRRI Affiliated Scholar Kelsy Burke, Ph.D., was quoted in The New York Times explaining, “There’s this new moment when it comes to debates about transgender rights that is allowing conversion therapy to be back on the table.”

PRRI Public Fellow Will McCorkle, Ph.D., wrote about how Vice President JD Vance’s position that immigrants should be denied emergency care conflicts with Christian teachings in Baptist News Global, and questioned the reasoning behind South Carolina Republicans’ decision to pressure local law enforcement to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Charleston City Paper.

Also This Month:

• TIME: The Perils of the Supreme Court Forgetting the Past

• The Independent: A third of Americans believe Trump’s rise to power is part of God’s plan

• Religion News Service: Conservative young priests are the future of the American church

• Deseret News: Conservative evangelical women are getting bolder. Christian podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey is their inspiration.

• Newsweek: Republicans More Likely to Believe They’ll Ascend in Rapture: Poll

Looking Ahead:

Join us tomorrow at 2:00 PM Eastern for the release of the 16th annual PRRI American Values Survey in partnership with the Brookings Institution! Our panel of experts will discuss the survey results and what they reveal about the state of American politics. Register here to attend online or in-person.

The fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk has led to strong reactions from President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other prominent figures in Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. NPR reports that, despite the vice president’s assertion that the left is more supportive of political violence than the right, while hosting a tribute episode of "The Charlie Kirk Show,” surveys, including PRRI’s, find that Republicans are more likely to support the use of violence. This same data was a focal point on PBS Newshour this weekend during a conversation between MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart and New York Times columnist David Brooks.

PRRI’s data tracking support for political violence over the past four years was also cited in the BBC’s reporting on Vice President JD Vance’s tribute episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show” podcast, during which Vance urged Americans to report anyone who publicly celebrated Kirk’s death to their employers.

Why It Matters:

81% of Americans reject the idea that “true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country,” but partisanship shapes attitudes: 18% of Republicans agree with this statement compared with 13% of independents and 11% of Democrats. Read more from PRRI’s recent Trump's 100 Days Survey.

More to Know:

After Trump made waves for stating, “Maybe we like a dictator,” TIME, CNN, and HuffPost cited PRRI polling showing that many of the president’s supporters want fewer checks on his power.

PRRI finds that 52% of Americans agree with the statement, “President Trump is a dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy,” compared with 44% who say “President Trump is a strong leader who should be given the power he needs to restore America’s greatness.”

Additionally, new PRRI Spotlight Analyses explore Americans’ confidence in news organizations and views of journalists, support for the death penalty by state, and Trump favorability.

PRRI in the News:

PRRI President and Founder , Ph.D., joined veteran journalist and Lutheran pastor in conversation at Cap Times Ideas Fest; the event was covered by Ella Hanley at The Cap Times.

PRRI CEO , Ph.D., joined the Faithful Politics Podcast to discuss what the PRRI American Values Atlas reveals about Americans’ changing views on LGBTQ rights and the reasons why former evangelical Protestants decided to leave that religious tradition.

Deckman explained, “The vast majority [of white exvangelicals], 80%, said they just stopped believing… Notably, we also find support among exvangelicals leaving because of the [church’s] treatment of gay and lesbian people (58%).”

2024–2025 PRRI Public Fellows, Anita Huízar-Hernández, Lloyd Barba, and Sergio González, spoke to Good Faith Weekly about the PRRI-funded oral history project they conducted among faith-based immigrant rights activists working in the Arizona-Sonora borderlands.

González shared, “We learned so much in talking with these individuals… What gives me hope is that they are more than willing to share their stories as a form of consciousness raising.”

Also This Month:

• Religion News Service: At NatCon, a confusing resurgence of anti-Muslim sentiment

• POLITICO: Are Christian nationalists targeting women’s right to vote?

• CNN: Analysis: Trump canceling elections? Democrats increasingly sound alarm bells.

• Salon: Why Donald Trump keeps talking about heaven

• Newsweek: Evangelical Christians taking Trump concerns to the Capitol

Looking Ahead:

We’ll continue tracking the conversation around political violence and connecting PRRI’s trusted public opinion data to the news. Stay tuned for more insights in next month’s research roundup.