Evangelicals' Views of Israel Decline but Still Outpace Other Religious Groups, Pew Finds
Evangelicals’ views of Israel have become less favorable in recent years, although they remain far more positive than those of most, if not all, other major religious groups, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
The survey also found that Americans as a whole have become less positive toward Israel, with favorable views of the Israeli people falling from 67 percent in 2022 to 52 percent today – a sharp decline that has almost certainly been influenced by the war in Gaza. Views of the Israeli government are even more negative, with only 32 percent of Americans expressing a favorable opinion, down from 47 percent in 2022.
Evangelicals continue to hold favorable views of Israel, with caveats.
Pew found that white evangelical Protestants – the survey's category for that religious subgroup – were the “only religious group” in which a majority (57 percent) expressed a favorable view of the Israeli government. Such favorability is higher than that among Jews (47 percent) and Catholics (34 percent). Favorable views among white evangelicals for the Israeli people also remain high (74 percent) – and second only to that among Jews (83 percent).
Although favorable views among white evangelical Protestants remain strong, they have declined since Pew’s 2024 survey, when 84 percent expressed a favorable view of the Israeli people and 71 percent viewed the Israeli government favorably – meaning it has fallen by 10 points and 14 points, respectively, as Christianity Today noted.
Americans’ views of Israel may be falling, but that doesn't mean they're embracing the other side: 84 percent hold an unfavorable view of Hamas, 69 percent view the Palestinian Authority unfavorably, and half express a favorable view of the Palestinian people – roughly the same as the 52 percent who hold favorable views of Israel’s people.
“The American public’s attitudes toward both the Israeli people and the Israeli government have turned more negative in the past few years,” a Pew analysis said. “Views of the Palestinian people, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have held fairly steady.
“... As recently as 2022, Americans viewed the Israeli people much more favorably than they viewed the Palestinian people. Following Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023 and the ensuing war, however, U.S. public opinion toward Israelis has grown increasingly negative, while views of Palestinians have not changed much.”
The survey was conducted in May among 12,574 Americans.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Luke Franzen
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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Originally published July 23, 2026.
