Saving Souls, Shaping Policy: Evangelism, the Pro-Life Ethic, and Christian Nationalism in the United States

Despite the prominence of evangelical Christians in the United States, the study of religion in American politics has mostly overlooked evangelism, the practice of communicating one’s faith to others. Using nationally representative data from the General Social Survey and an original survey featuring a novel five-item evangelism battery, I show that Christians who evangelize or prioritize evangelism are less supportive of abortion, assisted suicide, and capital punishment, more willing to help those in need, and more likely to endorse Christian nationalist claims about the United States, even net of religious affiliation and church attendance. Evangelism also has implications for partisanship and turnout: evangelists’ configuration of issue positions and Christian nationalism leaves many more likely to adopt an independent label and less likely to vote in presidential elections. Evangelism appears to capture a distinct moral orientation that centers the preservation of life and the salvation of souls.