Charged Up: American evangelical Christians show backing for Israel at a Washington, D.C., convention. Image by Wharton Photography

By Nathan Guttman December 4, 2017

Younger evangelical Christians are less likely to support Israel than their older co-religionists, a new survey has found.

The survey found still showed high levels of support for Israel among evangalicals, but clearly indicated a generational shift in which younger evangelicals are less inclined to be pro-Israel than their parents and grandparents.

According to the study, 58% of Millennial evangelicals aged 18-34 said they had a positive perception of Israel, compared to 76% of older evangelicals. A closer breakdown of the numbers shows younger evangelicals are not anti-Israel, but are rather unwilling to commit to unconditional support.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

A possible explanation for the decline could be found in the feeling among respondents that Christians are not doing enough to support Palestinians. 59% of evangelicals, and two-thirds of younger ones, agreed that Christians “should do more to love and care for Palestinian people.”

“We as a church need to do a better job educating millennials, or else we may see the collapse of Evangelical support for Israel,” Joel Rosenberg, one of the activists behind the survey, told the Forward.

The survey of 2,002 evangelicals was also sponsored by Chosen People Ministries, a Messianic Jewish organization.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount