Empathy divides Americans by religion, with white evangelicals standing apart

Data: PRRI, 2026 American Values Survey; Chart: Russell Contreras/Axios White evangelical Protestants are the only major religious group in which a majority says empathy can become dangerous when it leads people away from a society guided by God's truth, according to a new survey. Why it matters: The survey lands amid a quiet civil war within American Christianity over who deserves empathy. Conservatives ranging from evangelical pastors to Elon Musk have framed empathy as a vulnerability in debates over immigration, racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights. In a February 2025 interview with Joe Rogan, Musk called empathy "the fundamental weakness of Western civilization," while acknowledging its potential good and warning against its weaponization. By the numbers: The annual American Values Survey from the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) released Tuesday found that 42% of white evangelical Protestants agreed that empathy is a foundational moral value that helps build a healthy society. Separately, 54% agreed that empathy can become dangerous when it leads people away from a society guided by God's truth. In every other religious group, PRRI found that at least 66% agreed with the foundational-value statement, including 73% of white mainline Protestants and Hispanic Catholics. Empathy's foundational value was endorsed by 83% of religiously unaffiliated Americans, 80% of respondents grouped under other non-Christian religions, 77% of Jewish Americans and 65% of Latter-day Saints. The intrigue: The survey found a 30-point partisan gap: 84% of Democrats agreed with the foundational-value statement, compared with 54% of Republicans. Independents were at 70%. White evangelicals stand out among religious groups, but PRRI reports religious and partisan results separately. The survey doesn't establish how much white evangelicals contribute to the Republican-Democratic gap. Zoom in: The divide also tracks with PRRI's Christian nationalism measure. Among people PRRI classifies as Christian nationalism adherents, 38% agreed that empathy is foundational, compared with 94% of rejecters. PRRI classifies respondents as Christian nationalist adherents or sympathizers based on support for a U.S. government and laws grounded in Christianity and the view that Christians should exercise dominion over society. Six in 10 adherents agreed that empathy can become dangerous, compared with 6% of rejecters. What they're saying: "As Christian nationalist leaders attack the sentiment of empathy, a disturbing 'empathy gap' has opened, separating Republicans and white evangelicals from most other Americans," PRRI President and Founder Robert P. Jones said in a statement. Jones said the findings raise questions about the moral foundations that let people from different backgrounds share a democracy. Methodology: PRRI conducted the American Values Survey online Aug. 20–Sept. 7, 2026, among 5,200 adults in Ipsos' KnowledgePanel and 339 additional adults recruited through opt-in panels to increase sample sizes in smaller states. The survey covered adults ages 18 and older in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The margin of sampling error is ±1.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level for results based on the entire sample.

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