Do they practise what they preach? Public perceptions of American evangelicalism

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ABSTRACT It is often supposed by academic and media talking heads alike that evangelicalism in the United States is a religious tradition that is, in part, co-opted by politics, a ‘politicised religion’ as some have elected to call it. While it is a common assumption that the broader populace shares in this characterisation, what is unknown is how the mass public actually views evangelicalism. Utilising original data from a module on the 2020 Cooperative Election Study (CES), I show that evangelicals’ political outgroups (Democrats and liberals) and religious outgroups (‘Nones’) view them as motivated by politics rather than by a sincerely held religious faith. Furthermore, I also provide evidence that evangelicals may view themselves as religiously motivated due to their self-affinity for their own social group and not out of principle. Furthermore, I discover that viewing evangelicalism as motivated by a sincere faith is strongly correlated with supporting Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Consequently, this research illustrates that public perception of evangelicalism is a fairly consistent one throughout the electorate and that the view that it has become politicised is held primarily by its political and religious adversaries.