Jesus taught his followers to love their neighbours. Yet a new American survey has found that most white evangelical Protestants chose a warning about empathy rather than a statement celebrating it as a basic moral value.
In the 2026 American Values Survey, 54% of white evangelical Protestants chose the idea that empathy can become dangerous if it leads people away from building a society guided by God’s truth. Only 42% chose the alternative statement describing empathy as a foundation of a healthy society.
It is a striking result, but it does not mean most evangelical Christians lack compassion. The survey reveals a debate over when empathy should guide people’s decisions, and whether religious conviction should take precedence.
What did Americans say about empathy?
The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), working with the Brookings Institution, surveyed 5,539 US adults between 20 August and 7 September 2026. Its findings, released on 20 October, showed that 68% of Americans overall chose to describe empathy as a foundational moral value. Only 27% chose the warning about its dangers.
The difference between religious groups was substantial:
- White evangelical Protestants: 42% chose empathy as foundational; 54% chose the warning.
- White mainline, or non-evangelical, Protestants: 73% chose empathy as foundational.
- Black Protestants and white Catholics: 66% chose empathy as foundational in each group.
- Jewish Americans: 77% chose empathy as foundational.
- Americans with no religious affiliation: 83% chose empathy as foundational.
White evangelical Protestants were the only major religious group in which a majority chose the warning. That matters: this is not a finding about Christianity as a whole. Most Christian groups in the survey favoured the statement supporting empathy.
Does that mean 54% of evangelicals are against compassion?
No. The wording of the question matters. People were asked to choose which of two statements came closest to their view. They were not simply asked, ‘Do you believe in empathy?’
One statement called empathy a basic moral value. The other said empathy could become dangerous when it leads society away from God’s truth. It is possible to believe both that empathy is important and that feelings should not be the only guide to decisions. The results tell us which concern respondents placed first, not how kindly they behave towards people in real life.
There is another caution when comparing the results with previous years: PRRI changed the wording of the empathy statements between its 2025 and 2026 surveys. A direct claim that empathy has fallen by a specific number of points would therefore be misleading.
Why are some conservative Christians questioning empathy?
A growing argument among some conservative Christian writers is that feeling another person’s pain can lead believers to support things their religion teaches are wrong.
Allie Beth Stuckey, author of Toxic Empathy, and pastor and author Joe Rigney, who wrote The Sin of Empathy, have advanced versions of this argument. Their concern is that compassion may be used to persuade Christians to set aside their beliefs on issues including abortion, immigration and sexuality. Associated Press has examined this debate and the disagreement it has caused among Christian leaders.
Supporters of that position say caring about someone does not require agreeing with every choice they make. Their critics argue that calling empathy dangerous can make it easier to overlook suffering, especially when the person asking for help belongs to a group whose beliefs or way of life are unpopular.
The disagreement is not simply about whether people should be kind. It is about what happens when compassion and firmly held religious beliefs appear to point in different directions.
Where does Christian nationalism fit in?
The PRRI survey also found a strong link between views on empathy and Christian nationalism, the belief that America’s national identity and political life should be closely tied to Christianity.
Among people PRRI classified as strong supporters of Christian nationalism, 59% chose the warning about empathy. Among those who strongly rejected Christian nationalism, 94% chose the statement describing empathy as a basic moral value.
This does not prove that Christian nationalism causes distrust of empathy. Nor are all evangelicals Christian nationalists. But the figures suggest that attitudes to empathy are closely connected with wider political and religious beliefs, not just differences between people who have faith and those who do not.
The human side: the documentary Heathens
These arguments can sound abstract until we consider what happens to people whose beliefs change.
The new documentary Heathens, directed by David Cowan and Shawn Hardin, follows five Americans brought up in strongly religious environments who have privately lost their faith. They face the difficult question of how to be honest about their beliefs without losing family ties, friendships or the communities in which they grew up.
The 87-minute film premiered at the United Nations Association Film Festival in California on 24 October 2026. It includes a gathering in the Blue Ridge Mountains where people who conceal their religious doubts can speak openly.
Heathens is not evidence for the PRRI survey, and its stories should not be taken as typical of every church. But it adds a human perspective to the wider question raised by the research: how does a community show compassion towards someone who no longer shares its beliefs?
Watch: Official trailer for Heathens
No Hate Like Christian Love
That question is also reflected in a song associated with the film. “No Hate Like Christian Love” by Transviolet appears on the documentary’s official music page. The band’s singer, Sarah McTaggart, is one of the people featured in Heathens.
The title is deliberately provocative. It expresses the hurt some people feel when a religious community speaks of love while they experience judgement or rejection. It is not a fair description of all Christians, many of whom would firmly reject that behaviour.
Watch: Transviolet, “No Hate Like Christian Love”
What happened to ‘love your neighbour’?
The debate brings us back to a familiar Christian teaching. In the story of the Good Samaritan, a man stops to help an injured stranger after others have passed him by. The lesson has long been understood as a call to show care beyond the boundaries of one’s own community.
Compassion does not automatically settle every difficult question in politics or religion. People can care about others and still disagree with them. But there is a difference between saying empathy needs judgement and treating empathy itself as a danger.
The survey cannot tell us whether those who chose the warning act less compassionately than anyone else. What it does show is that one influential branch of American Christianity places far more weight on the possible dangers of empathy than most other religious groups.
The question now is whether warning people against empathy helps them make better moral choices, or risks making it easier to turn away from the suffering of others.
Sources: PRRI, 2026 American Values Survey; Associated Press, debate about empathy; Heathens documentary; Heathens music.
