Axios reports:

Christian nationalism is now deeply entrenched inside today’s Republican Party, according to a sweeping 50-state survey.

Why it matters: The once-fringe ideology holds that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation and should be governed according to strict Christian values, even as the country becomes less religious and more racially diverse.

• The divide reflects a broader clash over whether America’s future is pluralistic or rooted in a singular religious-national identity.

By the numbers: About one-third of Americans qualify as Christian nationalism “adherents” or “sympathizers,” a new survey released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute finds.

• 56% of all Republicans are Christian nationalism “adherents” or “sympathizers,” the survey said.
• Meanwhile, only 25% of independents and just 17% of Democrats are “adherents” or “sympathizers,” according to the survey.

State of play: Many adherents say the U.S. was founded as the “Promised Land” for white European Christians, and falsely believe the founding fathers sought to create a Christian nation, PRRI president Robert P. Jones tells Axios.

• Critics say Christian nationalism reinforces rigid, male-dominated leadership models in church, home and government, and merges religious identity with white ethnic nationalism.
• It also elevates Christianity — often a specific conservative Protestant expression — above other faiths.

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