Strong Christian nationalist identification in America has measurably declined since 2007

Evidence

Christian nationalism is not some new phenomenon bringing more Americans into the fold every day. If anything, evidence from the past ten to fifteen years suggests that the number of Ambassadors—those who most strongly embrace Christian nationalism—are shrinking, bit by bit. From 2007 to 2017, the number of Ambassadors shrank from 24 percent to 20 percent of the population. In a national survey gathered in 2021, they made up 16 percent of the population. Other surveys show the number of Ambassadors holding steady from 2020 to 2021 at about 24 percent. Although there is some fluctuation due to sampling differences across surveys, the evidence is clear that Christian nationalism is not growing but rather contracting some in terms of the overall population. — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 172

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the body of political science on whether radicalized movements grow or intensify among a shrinking base; parallels the islamophobia books’ finding that a vocal minority reads as larger than it is. — connects to: High support for Christian nationalism is slowly declining while accommodation persists — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 194; Belief that America is a Christian nation fell sharply from 2012 to 2017 — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 182; Declining Christian nationalist numbers make their adherents feel threatened and marginalized — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 45 (+1 more)
• QUESTION: Worth chasing the survey methodology differences that produce 16% vs 24% Ambassadors within months of each other.

Broader Connections

• Strong Christian nationalist embrace is shrinking, not growing #corroborates (0.97)
• High support for Christian nationalism is slowly declining while accommodation persists #corroborates (0.93) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 194
• Belief that America is a Christian nation fell sharply from 2012 to 2017 #exemplifies (0.80) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 182
• Declining Christian nationalist numbers make their adherents feel threatened and marginalized #expands (0.78) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 45