What do US Christians really believe? (NPR)

Meghna Chakrabarti, On Point, 12/25/23 (rebroadcast from 12/12/22); Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

What do American Christians believe about their own religion?

St. Francis of Assisi cross (Robert Alexander)

When referring to American Christians, politicians and the mainstream media are often focusing on one group — politicized evangelicals. But, in truth, they are a tiny slice of the broad spectrum of American Christianity.

A survey finds that American Christians’ beliefs are as diverse as the country they live in. From the traditional sacred nonsense “Jesus Christ, we believe is God incarnate who came, died a death on a cross, and then rose again on the third day,” like listener Peter Green says, to the surprising number of regular churchgoers who believe Jesus was a great teacher but not divine.

“Whether or not in fact he is divine, and the son of God, is actually, well, it’s a little irrelevant to me personally,” says listener Jennifer Hudson. Today, On Point: The voices we don’t often hear in American Christianity.

• Guests Jonathan Tran, associate professor of philosophical theology and George W. Baines Chair of Religion at Baylor University
• Jua Robinson, co-founder and executive director of Boston Collaborative, an organization that connects workplace Christians to each other and the Boston community. Chaplain of the New England Patriots. Also Featured Scott McConnell, executive director at LifeWay Research.
• Kelli Masters, director of children’s ministry at Wayne Presbyterian Church in Wayne, Pennsylvania.

Part I

HOST MEGHNA CHAKRABARTI: For decades, when covering the views of American Christians, the media, including this show, have often focused on right wing Christianity, largely because of its significant political influence. Think of groups such as the Christian Coalition, the Moral Majority, Focus on the Family, just to name a small few. And more recently, the rise of Christian nationalist extremism cannot be denied, especially after the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

SCOTT McCONNELL: A growing movement led by right wing politicians is increasingly challenging a centuries old value of America’s political system, the separation of church and state. During the January 6th attack on the Capitol, there were Trump banners and confederate flags, the Gadsden flags. There’s also Christian imagery. The wooden cross, people in prayer, the “Jesus saves” slogan.

CHAKRABARTI: And while these groups dominate media coverage of Christianity, and for good reason, they also represent only a fraction of the more than 60% of Americans who identify themselves as followers of the Christian faith. And American Christians overall have a spectrum of belief as broad and diverse. As the country they live.

In fact, many American Christians profess beliefs that their more conservative fellow churchgoers find outright heretical. We have a biblically heretical statement that says the Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths, but it is not literally true. AUDIO: wbur.org/onpoint

• PHOTO: The sun rises behind a stone cross the historic Cathedral Basilica of St. Frances of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico (Robert Alexander/Getty Images).
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