The Gathering Storm in the Evangelical Field: Education, Christian Nationalism, and Racial Inequality

Abstract What generates divides within American evangelicalism on racial inequality? Recent political developments, including race-related social activism and the Trump movement, are likely to enhance social and cultural divides within the evangelical field, especially regarding the application of evangelical motifs of personal moral responsibility, sacrificial care for those in need, and engaged orthodoxy. Complex religion demands attention to the interaction of social position and religion in explaining views of stratification. We argue that whether evangelicals frame racial inequality in terms of personal responsibility of Black individuals and communities depends on educational attainment and reactions to the rise of Christian nationalism in the evangelical field. Using 2022 national survey results, we find evidence that the racial views of evangelicals supportive of Christian nationalism—about 40-50% of evangelicals—are at odds with those skeptical of uniting God and country and that educational level strongly influences whether evangelical views on racial inequality are shaped by Christian nationalism. Similar patterns are found in reactions to Trump. Educational attainment and skepticism of Christian nationalism reduce evangelical support for understanding Black disadvantage in terms of personal agency.