Amanda Kadlec writes:

The war in Gaza has forced a conversation about Israel among American Christians.

Christians make up 72% of the United States electorate, and 56% of Americans who identify as Christian voted for Donald Trump in 2024, according to a report by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. Although this conservative segment initially signaled strong support for Israel’s war in Gaza, its thinking on the issue is becoming increasingly diverse. With the stratification of echo-chamber outlets and unfiltered, instantaneous news, multiple social, ethnic, religious and political cleavages are starting to tear up Trump’s big tent.

As the president forms his new administration, he is stepping into a very different Middle Eastern landscape than he encountered in his first term. And the American public, which has become less religious in recent years — and specifically less Christian — isn’t nearly as pro-Israel as it was just a year ago. Christians who trend progressive or liberal on domestic issues like racial, gender and economic equality are among those who first began questioning the “ironclad” U.S. alliance with Israel as Gaza turned into a humanitarian catastrophe. Now, even those loyal to MAGA are starting to ask questions about the relationship. Some conservatives who consider themselves pro-Israel are expressing concerns about the U.S. getting further entangled in yet another Middle Eastern war.

But there is another section of the MAGA movement with yet stronger feelings, driven by a seething criticism of Israel and its role in American domestic and foreign politics. This “America First” cohort of Christians are fuming about ongoing U.S. support for Israel amid the destruction in Gaza, most notably the damage done to the Palestinian practitioners of their shared faith. And they are turning on Trump. [Continue reading…]