Poll: Nearly half of US wants a Christian nation

Forty-five percent of Americans believe the US should be a “Christian nation,” one of several striking findings from a sweeping new Pew Research Center survey examining Christian nationalism.

But researchers say respondents differed greatly when it came to outlining what a Christian nation should look like, suggesting a wide spectrum of beliefs.

“There are a lot of Americans—45 percent—who tell us they think the United States should be a Christian nation. That is a lot of people,” Greg Smith, one of the lead authors of the survey, said in an interview. “(But) what people mean when they say they think the US should be a Christian nation is really quite nuanced.”