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LIFESTYLE

31% of Blacks Favor Removing ‘White Jesus’ from Churches

Americans strongly reject the call by a leading Black Lives Matter activist to remove “white Jesus” from churches and elsewhere. His message resonates far stronger among black Americans than others.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 69% of American Adults disagree with this statement: “All murals and stained glass windows of white Jesus and his European mother and their white friends should also come down. They are a gross form [of] white supremacy. Created as tools of oppression. Racist propaganda. They should all come down.” Just 13% agree with the statement by BLM activist Shaun King. Eighteen percent (18%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

Sixty-five percent (65%) continue to believe that Jesus Christ was the son of God who came to earth to die for our sins, although that’s down from 77% four years ago. Twenty-two percent (22%) do not share that belief, while 13% are not sure.

Support for removing “white Jesus” from churches is far higher among blacks (31%) than it is among whites (9%) and other minority Americans (13%). Blacks are also much stronger believers than the others that Jesus was the son of God.

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The survey of 1,000 American Adults was conducted June 23-24, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Fifty-two percent (52%) of Americans think this country would be a better place if most people attended religious services on a regular basis. Just nine percent (9%) say regular religious attendance would make America worse off.

Sizable majorities in nearly all demographic categories oppose the removal of “white Jesus” from churches and elsewhere.

Among Americans who believe Jesus Christ was the son of God, 16% favor removing “white Jesus” from churches; 70% are opposed. Those who don’t believe in Christ’s divinity are far more likely to be undecided.

Adults under 40 are the least likely to think Jesus was the son of God and the most supportive of removing “white Jesus.” But even among younger adults, 63% are opposed to His removal.

Eighty-two percent (82%) of Republicans disagree with the statement calling for the removal of “white Jesus,” a view shared by just 58% of Democrats and 69% of those not affiliated with either of the major political parties.

Seventy-one percent (71%) of all Americans regard their religious faith as important in their daily lives. Sixty-one percent (61%) of these adults agree with U.S. Attorney General William Barr that “secular forces and their allies have marshaled all the forces of mass communication, popular culture, the entertainment industry and academia in an unremitting assault on religion and traditional values.”

Belief that black lives matter more than all lives is up from five years ago, but most voters still put all lives first. 

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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The survey of 1,000 American Adults was conducted June 23-24, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.

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