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Empathy divides Americans by religion, with white evangelicals standing apart
Data: PRRI, 2026 American Values Survey; Chart: Russell Contreras/AxiosWhite evangelical Protestants are the only major religious group in which a majority says empathy can become dangerous when it leads people away from a society guided by God's truth, according to a new survey.Why it matters: The survey lands amid a quiet civil war within American Christianity over who deserves empathy.Conservatives ranging from evangelical pastors to Elon Musk have framed empathy as a vulnerability in debates over immigration, racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights.In a February 2025 interview with Joe Rogan, Mus