We have a rare opportunity to compare the internal reflections of American Protestants with the thinking of the broader American population. On 15 March 2024, Pew Research released a report that tracked Americans’ perception of religion and its influence in the United States. On 25 June 2024, LifeWay Research, the research arm of the Southern Baptist Church, released a report on how American Protestants believe they are being perceived by Americans more broadly. The similarities and differences are telling.

The topline finding from the Pew report is that 80% of Americans agree that religion is losing influence in the United States. This holds true across nearly every demographic (race, sex, religious affiliation). However, this is not seen as positive by all people. As seen in the graph below, 49% of those surveyed think both that religion is losing influence and that this loss of influence is a bad thing (the light blue section in the graph). Only 19% of those surveyed had a negative view of religion—6% that think the influence of religion is growing in the United States and that this is a bad thing (the orange section in the graph), and 13% that think the influence of religions is decreasing in the United States and that this is a good thing (the yellow section in the graph).

This is a more positive disposition toward religion than what American Protestants think Americans have. Only 53% of American Protestants think that Americans currently have a positive view of Christians (note: this is a slightly different question because it narrows the focus to just Christianity, not all religions; however, the Pew data skews heavily toward Christianity because that is the majority religion in the United States). They become even more pessimistic looking ahead, with 69% of American Protestants believing that the overall perception of Christianity will only get worse in the United States.

What accounts for this divergence? There is quite a bit to mine in the reports, but one that comes to the fore is the reasons that each group give for their opinions. According to LifeWay Research, American Protestants largely blame what they see as the worsening perception of Christianity in the United States on a combination of bad behavior among Christians and changing beliefs among Americans more broadly (specifics are given in the graph below). Put together, these two items undermine the credibility of the Christian faith.

While Pew Research did not specifically ask why Americans thought religion was losing influence in the United States, their line of questioning gives us a hint as to one major reason they thought weighed heavily on Americans’ minds: control. Pew asked a series of questions about the extent to which Americans think religion—and specifically Christianity—should influence American politics and laws. It also asked about how knowledgeable Americans were about Christian nationalism (not very, as it turns out, with only 46% stating they had heard of it).

A central point around control had to do with whether the United States Federal Government should declare Christianity the national religion or at least promote Christian moral values. The majority of all types of Christians believed that the government should at least promote Christian values, the majority (often vast majority) of all other groups rejected this idea (see below).

What can be learned from this rare confluence of LifeWay and Pew data? There are at least three lessons:

American Protestants are too inward looking. The fact that LifeWay ran their research after the Pew data had been available for months demonstrates that Christians are more concerned with what they think other people think about them rather than engaging with the other people directly.

American Protestants rightly recognize their own moral failures. The public displays of outrage, anger, and hypocrisy among Christians is concerning, and it is a good thing that American Protestants are cognizant of this. The next step, of course, is to engage in public acts of confession and repair. If American Protestants believe that their failures has eroded their credibility in the eyes of Americans more broadly, then they must take publicly accountable steps to show that they will reform and be faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

American Protestants misunderstand Americans’ concerns about religion. Americans generally do not fear or despise religion. While they are not insensible to the dangers of its misuse, the majority still see it as a force for good. What Americans who are not Christian reject is the idea of converting the American Republic into a theocracy. Why? Simply because making one group dominant always leads to the marginalization of all other groups. American Protestants might argue that giving Christians a preferential place in the Republic will only be a good thing because of the values that the Christian faith teaches. However, see #2 above—even American Protestants acknowledge that Christians have not proven themselves to be faithful to the teachings of Christ. Americans are savvy enough to know that the very real temptations to create a two-tier system based on religious affiliation would be too much for many Christians to resist if they gained this sort of social power. Even if American Protestants reject this idea, they can at least consider what it means to “do unto others as you would have done unto yourself.” American Protestants do not want to live in a society that dishonors them because of their faith, so they should not want to create a situation in which they might make others feel dishonored.

Where does this leave American Christians, Protestant or otherwise? At the point of rebuilding credibility. There is still enough goodwill to allow this to happen and to welcome the positive influence of Christianity into the public square. To this end, the admonition of Paul to the Thessalonians is apt:

For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life…make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you,  so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders.

1 Thessalonians 4:7, 11-12 NIV