

This movement uses Christian language to cloak sexism and hostility to Black people and non-White immigrants in its quest to create a White Christian America.Ī report from a team of clergy, scholars and advocates - sponsored by two groups that advocate for the separation of church and state - concluded that this ideology was used to “ bolster, justify and intensify” the attack on the US Capitol.ĭemonstrators pray outside the US Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. The insurrection marked the first time many Americans realized the US is facing a burgeoning White Christian nationalist movement. These were photos of people who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, during an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. But this event wasn’t a revival it was what some call a Christian revolt.

All throughout the crowd, people wave “Jesus Saves” banners and pump their fists toward the sky.Īt first glance, these snapshots look like scenes from an outdoor church rally. Another man wraps his arms around a massive Bible pressed against his chest like a shield.

They are not antisemites, but philosemites.Three men, eyes closed and heads bowed, pray before a rough-hewn wooden cross. My statistical skills are pretty basic, so I checked with one of the authors to make sure I was reading this right. This turns out to be wildly wrong whatever their theological views of the Second Coming, pro-Israel evangelicals are also pro-Jewish. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that evangelical support for Israel masks an underlying antisemitism, that evangelicals only support Israel so that Jews can be gathered in one place to be destroyed as part of the Second Coming, and thus their support for Israel is actual a reflection of anti-Jewish hostility. In other words, evangelicals who are favorably inclined toward Jews (a strong majority) are strongly inclined to support Israel, and the minority of evangelicals who have an unfavorable opinion of Jews tend not to support Israel. The most important bit of information I gleaned from the study, however, is that by far the strongest correlate of evangelical support for Israel was their opinion of Jews. There are a host of complicated religious and political factors, some of which are benign, and some of which will undoubtedly make some Jews uncomfortable–many evangelicals believe that the establishment of Israel is a necessary prelude to Jesus' Second Coming, which according to many will involve Jews converting to Christianity. A new academic paper published in Politics and Religion explores the source of evangelical Christian support for Israel.
