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Survey: 76% of ‘White Evangelical Protestants’ Agree With the President’s Refugee Ban

Survey: 76% of ‘White Evangelical Protestants’ Agree With the President’s Refugee Ban

Pew Research published the results of a recent survey today. And the results are, well, revealing.

Most Americans, the survey shows, disapprove of President Donald Trump’s executive order to temporarily stop refugees from entering the U.S. His plan is to set up something of a 120-day moratorium to prevent people from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S. while the administration can review and adjust vetting processes.

Nationally, 59 percent of respondents to Pew’s survey disapprove of the ban, while 38 percent say they approve.

Race and age factor heavily into people’s perspective on the ban. About 84 percent of black respondents disapprove of the ban, 79 percent of Hispanics and 50 percent of whites. By age group, younger Americans most consistently disapprove of the executive order (76 percent among ages 18 to 29), but even the oldest group polled opposes the ban by a majority. It seems race and age are factors, but still most people disapprove of the policy.

There’s a huge difference, though, when it comes to Christians, especially those who self-identify as evangelical.

Among what Pew calls “white evangelical Protestants,” more than 76 percent approve of the president’s ban on Muslim refugees. Only 22 percent of evangelicals you participated in this poll oppose the ban. White mainline Protestants show less support, but still approve of the policy by a majority (50 percent).

These results are surprising, given the place refugee care in Christian teaching and Jesus’ widely known command to “love thy neighbor.”

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