---
title: "Op/ed: UMD Poll Shows Republicans Support Declaring the U.S. a Christian Nation"
date: 2022-09-22T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/op-ed-umd-poll-shows-republicans-support-declaring-the-u-s-a-christian-nation"
section: Articles
---
# Op/ed: UMD Poll Shows Republicans Support Declaring the U.S. a Christian Nation

*September 22, 2022* — by [Stella Rouse](/author/stella-rouse), [Shibley Telhami](/author/shibley-telhami)


> Most GOP Voters Say Such a Move Would Be Unconstitutional, But Still Endorse It

*I Stock 539664982 1920x1080 — Most Republicans support the idea of an official Christian identity for the country, a UMD poll found.*

*Declaring the United States a “Christian nation” is a message that Republicans could broadly embrace in the 2022 midterms and 2024 presidential race, a new* [*University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll*](https://criticalissues.umd.edu/sites/criticalissues.umd.edu/files/American%20Attitudes%20on%20Race%2CEthnicity%2CReligion.pdf) *found.*

*But the two government and politics professors leading the poll—Stella Rouse, poll associate director, and Shibley Telhami, its director—wrote in Politico on Wednesday that the results also reveal the limits to the message’s appeal. Over the long term, as the demographics of the country shift and new generations of Republicans come to the fore, Christian nationalism could become a “political loser,” they say.*

Christian nationalism, a belief that the United States was founded as [a white, Christian nation](https://news.yale.edu/2022/03/15/yale-sociologist-phil-gorski-threat-white-christian-nationalism) and that there is no separation between church and state, is gaining steam on the right.

Prominent Republican politicians have made the themes critical to their message to voters in the run up to the 2022 midterm elections. Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, has [argued](https://www.politicspa.com/mastriano-campaigned-at-event-promoting-qanon/101129/) that America is a Christian nation and that the separation of church and state is a “myth.” [Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia hard-liner, declared](https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/27/opinions/christian-nationalism-marjorie-taylor-greene-tyler/index.html): “We need to be the party of nationalism and I’m a Christian, and I say it proudly, we should be Christian Nationalists.” [Amid a backlash](https://news.yahoo.com/over-12-000-christians-condemned-164448708.html), she doubled down and [announced she would start selling “Christian Nationalist” shirts](https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-selling-christian-nationalist-shirts-backlash-goddess-left-attacking-1729267). Now Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis seems to be [flirting with Christian nationalist rhetoric, as well](https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article265261411.html).

*Read* [*the rest*](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/09/21/most-republicans-support-declaring-the-united-states-a-christian-nation-00057736)*, including details about the poll, in Politico.*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Government and Politics](https://today.umd.edu/topic/government-and-politics), [2022 Elections](https://today.umd.edu/topic/2022-elections), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Behavioral and Social Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-behavioral-and-social-sciences)