{"id":2925,"date":"2024-07-27T10:05:23","date_gmt":"2024-07-27T14:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/?p=2925"},"modified":"2024-07-26T18:16:04","modified_gmt":"2024-07-26T22:16:04","slug":"evangelicals-beliefs-bolster-support-for-israel-study-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/07\/27\/evangelicals-beliefs-bolster-support-for-israel-study-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Evangelicals&#8217; Beliefs Bolster Support for Israel, Study Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_2964\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2964\" style=\"width: 724px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2964\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/452\/2024\/07\/CrossandIsrael.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"724\" height=\"724\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2964\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Recent survey results indicate a greater affinity for Israel and Jewish people among American Christians who are most active in practicing their faith. Image created for Beliefnet.com in Dall*E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Evangelical beliefs and practices are the most reliable indicator of American Christians\u2019 support for Israel, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chosenpeople.com\/christian-attitudes-war-gaza-survey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">new research.<\/a> The study of \u201cChristian Attitudes Toward the War in Gaza in 2024\u201d included 2,033 self-identified American Christian adults.<\/p>\n<p>Surveys were conducted March 8-14, 2024, by Motti Inbari, professor of Jewish studies at the University of North Carolina-Pembroke, and Kirill Bumin, associate dean of Boston University Metropolitan College.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Key Findings<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The study\u2019s major findings include the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The single biggest reason most Christians support Israel is the belief that God\u2019s covenant with the Jewish people still exists. Christians who believe that God\u2019s covenant is still valid are <strong>180 percent more sympathetic<\/strong> toward Israel than others.<\/li>\n<li>A belief that \u201cJews need a state of their own after the Holocaust\u201d is the second major justification for support. Christians who hold this belief are <strong>122 percent more likely to strongly support Israel<\/strong> in the Gaza war.<\/li>\n<li>The third major factor is the belief that \u201cIsrael is <strong>the United States\u2019 closest ally<\/strong> in an unstable region.\u201d This belief increases the likelihood of support for Israel by 95.3 percent.<\/li>\n<li>Survey respondents\u2019 ages are also important, ranking as the fourth major factor in determining support for the Jewish state. Respondents ages 50-64 are \u201crepeatedly <strong>the most pro-Israel age group<\/strong>,\u201d the report said. Compared to the 65-and-older group, the 50-64-year-olds were 64.5 percent more likely to strongly support Israel. Younger Christians, as a group, are less supportive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Other findings include the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>People ages 30 and younger are 47 percent <strong>less likely to express strong support<\/strong> for Israel than people 65 years and older.<\/li>\n<li>African Americans are 59.6 percent <strong>less likely to support Israel<\/strong> than people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>belief that a \u201cfuture literal kingdom<\/strong> with Jerusalem as the national and spiritual capital of Israel and God\u2019s kingdom on earth\u201d increases strong support for Israel by 82.7 percent.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Conservative political beliefs<\/strong> increase the likelihood of strong support by 27.7 percent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Christianity\u2019s Jewish Roots<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chosenpeople.com\/christian-attitudes-war-gaza-survey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The survey<\/a>\u00a0also looked at the antisemitic idea that the Jewish people as a whole are responsible for Christ\u2019s crucifixion. This belief resulted in \u201cgenerations of antisemitism\u201d in Europe and the U.S. However, only 8 percent of Christian respondents agree with the belief, while 62 percent blame \u201cthe sins of humanity\u201d or see the crucifixion as \u201cpart of God\u2019s plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Antisemitism peaked during World War II with the Holocaust, and Jewish people continue to talk about it. However, only 25 percent of Christian respondents say they overdo it.<\/p>\n<p>Another factor in Christian support for Israel is that many Christians are increasingly interested in Christianity\u2019s roots in Judaism. Some 25 percent say their church celebrates Passover, while 16 percent say their church celebrates the Sabbath. Few Christian churches celebrate other Jewish holidays.<\/p>\n<p>There also is \u201cunquestionably\u201d greater support for Israel and the Jewish people among American Christians who are very active in their faith.<\/p>\n<p>Eighty-one percent of those surveyed say the Bible is the Word of God, with 43 percent interpreting the Bible literally and 38 percent saying they don\u2019t believe in a literal interpretation. Not surprisingly, more evangelicals lean toward biblical literalism than mainline Protestants and Catholics.<\/p>\n<p>The survey also looked at church attendance. Fifty-six percent of Americans who identify as Christian seldom or never attend church, as compared to 28 percent who attend weekly. Evangelicals attend church more than other Christians, with 35 percent saying they attend services every week.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Growing Antisemitism<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Antisemitism is a growing problem, according to many Christians surveyed. And they want to support Jewish people in the face of that hatred. Some 87 percent of all respondents are concerned about antisemitism. Only 12 percent say they are \u201cnot particularly worried\u201d about it.<\/p>\n<p>Forty-two percent of survey participants strongly disagree that \u201call Jews\u201d are responsible for Israel\u2019s actions in the West Bank and Gaza. And 23 percent expressed significant disagreement.<\/p>\n<p>Christians, for the most part, are highly critical of pro-Hamas rallies that have taken place on major university campuses in the U.S. Forty-three percent of respondents said those universities either \u201ctolerate antisemitism to some extent\u201d or \u201ctolerate antisemitism quite a lot.\u201d Only 13 percent felt otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>Of those who think major universities tolerate antisemitism, 74 percent of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chosenpeople.com\/christian-attitudes-war-gaza-survey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">survey<\/a> participants say the universities actively promote it.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Suffering &amp; Blame<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The study said that Christians surveyed are concerned about Israelis\u2019 suffering because of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the continuous rocket fire into noncombatant areas. But Christians also are concerned that Palestinians are suffering because of Hamas.<\/p>\n<p>The report says that 49 percent of respondents mostly blame Hamas for the war, 39 percent blame both sides equally and only 8 percent blame \u201cmostly Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some 45 percent believe Israel is \u201cmostly justified\u201d for its actions against Hamas, while 36 percent say they are \u201cpartially justified.\u201d Only 11 percent think Hamas is \u201cmostly justified\u201d for its attacks on the Jewish state.<\/p>\n<p>Forty-one percent of those surveyed said they doubt that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, while 25 percent say it\u2019s \u201cprobably true\u201d and 34 percent do not know. More than half, or 51 percent, said they doubt that Israel targets Palestinian civilians.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Support for the State of Israel<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cThe concerns of Christians about the State of Israel as a political entity is (sic) slightly different than concerns about antisemitism,\u201d the study says. \u201cThis debate is more controversial, and Christians are somewhat divided on the subject of modern Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even so, most respondents support Israel over Palestinians, with 40 percent expressing their support for the Jewish state and only 8 percent supporting the latter.<\/p>\n<p>Evangelicals are Israel\u2019s strongest supporters, with 47 percent saying they \u201cvery strongly\u201d support Israel and 23 percent saying they \u201csupport\u201d Israel. In comparison, 42 percent of mainline Protestants and 32 percent of Catholics are strongly supportive.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>More about the Survey<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Major funding for the \u201cChristian Attitudes toward the War in Gaza in 2024\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chosenpeople.com\/christian-attitudes-war-gaza-survey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">research<\/a> was provided by Chosen People Ministries, the Alliance for the Peace of Jerusalem, and Christians and Jews who are concerned about growing antisemitism and want to gain a better understanding of the conflict.<\/p>\n<p>Chosen People is an evangelical, nonprofit group that promotes evangelization of Jews. The Alliance for the Peace of Jerusalem is dedicated to promoting a better understanding of the Middle East, including its history and roots in the Bible. The organization says it affirms God\u2019s concern for all Middle Eastern people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Evangelical beliefs and practices are the most reliable indicator of American Christians\u2019 support for Israel, according to new research. The study of \u201cChristian Attitudes Toward the War in Gaza in 2024\u201d included 2,033 self-identified American Christian adults. Surveys were conducted March 8-14, 2024, by Motti Inbari, professor of Jewish studies at the University of North&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":689,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[918,906,909,915,912],"class_list":["post-2925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-american-opinions-on-gaza-war","tag-christians-and-jews","tag-christians-views-on-jews","tag-new-study-on-christians-and-jews","tag-research-christian-opinions-on-jews"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Evangelicals&#039; Beliefs Bolster Support for Israel, Study Says<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Evangelical beliefs and practices are the most reliable indicator of Christians\u2019 support for Israel, according to new research. 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New stories updated daily from a Christian perspective.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/#\/schema\/person\/577a2d1deda468588785cdff5af64cd7","name":"Ginny Baxter","description":"Ginny Baxter is a former journalist and public relations professional whose passion is writing. A graduate of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, Ginny majored in English with a focus on journalism. She later studied public relations at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She comes from a Christian family and has been an active church member since childhood. You can read her Patheos column Woman to Woman here.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/author\/ginnybaxter\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/689"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2925"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2976,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2925\/revisions\/2976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}