American Christians strongly support a two-state solution in which Israel and the Palestinians govern themselves and enjoy national borders respected by all, according to a new survey released this weekend.
According to the survey, 81% of American Christians believe in a two-state solutionwith 88% saying Israelis have the right to determine their state and government and 76% saying Palestinians have the same right.
The poll of more than 1,200 American Christian opinions on the war between Israel and Hamas was produced by Lifeway Research on behalf of the Philos Project. The survey was conducted online between November 14 and 21 among a pre-recruited national panel of Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christians.
Although there is a widely held belief that Christians generally support the idea of a greater Israel as described in the Bible, including Israelis living in the West Bank or the “biblical heartland”, the results of the survey suggests that the majority of modern American Christians seem to prioritize peace for both sides on this issue Yearning for the end of times.
Additionally, more than half (53%) of respondents said American Christians should advocate for strong measures to minimize civilian casualties in the war between Israel and Hamas. Nearly half (42%) want an immediate and complete ceasefire to put an end to the massacres.
Similarly, while more than half of those surveyed (53%) want to see Hamas subjugated through war, very few American Christians (15%) want to see Israel establish long-term security and control over Hamas.
Instead, 56% think the optimal outcome would be an option involving negotiations.
Although the United States resists international calls for an immediate ceasefire to give Israel more time to confront the Hamas threat and rescue more than 100 hostages still trapped in the coastal enclave , President Joe Biden said last week that Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing” was diminishing its international influence. support. Additionally, the president stressed that achieving a two-state solution should be a top priority once the war ends.
Nearly half of those surveyed (43%) said the Palestinian people in Gaza supported Hamas’s fight. Additionally, 31% said the Palestinian people of Gaza were responsible for the October 7 attack.
Similarly, 39% of American Christians said armed rebellion by Palestinians is a natural response to Israeli mistreatment – 10% strongly agree and 29% somewhat agree; 59% of people aged 18 to 29 agree.
About the same percentage of Christians (43%) disagree that violence is acceptable.
Around 3,000 Gazans entered Israel on October 7 and massacred more than 1,200 Israelis. Media and security services reported that a large percentage of them were members of other terrorist groups and civilians.
The media influences Christians more than the Bible or the Church
It is striking that Christians are not guided by the Bible but by the media in their vision of the Jewish state.
Some 56% of those surveyed said the media had influenced their views of Israel, compared to just 27% who cited the Bible and 12% their local church.
Furthermore, while overall 65% of American Christians have a positive perception of Israel – including 17% very positive, 23% positive and 25% rather positive – some 42% of American Christians aged 18 to 29 have a negative perception of Israel. ‘Israel. Israel.
Those who attend church more have a more positive view of Israel. Some 71% of people who attend church at least once a week view Israel positively, and 72% who attend church at least twice a month view Israel positively as well.
The percentage is only 57% and 59% among those who only attend monthly or even more rarely.
A month of June Gallup Poll 2023 showed that church attendance in the United States has declined. Only 31% of Americans reported attending a religious service every week, compared to 34% in 2019 and 39% in 2013.
According to the Philos Project survey, being pro-Israel is also linked to race. While 70% of white Christians describe themselves as having a positive view of Israel, only 51% of African American Christians, 56% of Hispanic Christians and 49% of Asian Christians say they have a positive perception of the Jewish state.
Geography is also a factor: 69% of those living in the Northeast or Midwest regions of the United States have a positive view of Israel, compared to just 58% of those living in the West.
Lifeway Research said the survey had 95% confidence that the sampling error on the panel did not exceed +/- 2.9%.
