Are American evangelicals turning against Israel? Recent headlines would certainly leave that impression.
In July, Christianity Today published an article titled “Evangelical Views Toward Israel Slip to New Low,” reporting on new findings from the Pew Research Center. Pew found that American attitudes toward Israelis have deteriorated considerably since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Among white evangelical Protestants, favorable views of the Israeli people fell from 84 percent in 2024 to 74 percent in 2026. Favorability toward the Israeli government dropped even more sharply, from 71 percent to 57 percent. By contrast, the study found 50 percent of Black Protestants view the Israeli people favorably, while just 30 percent hold a favorable view of the Israeli government. [1]
The article also cited a generational divide. Among Americans ages 18–29, only 32 percent view Israelis favorably and 18 percent view the Israeli government favorably. Meanwhile, 61 percent of Americans 50 and older view Israelis favorably, and 40 percent view the Israeli government favorably.[2]
The publication points to several possible explanations for this shift: the Israel-Hamas War, growing political isolationism, changing evangelical theology, declining exposure to Christian Zionism, and even antisemitic influences online.
This sounds bleak for those of us who believe God’s plans and promises for Israel are still in effect. But the good news is this study does not reveal the full story.
A Closer Look at the Numbers and Trends
In December 2025, Chosen People Ministries sponsored a study of 3,806 self-identifying evangelical Protestants in the United States on their views of Israel and Jewish people. One thousand of those respondents were young evangelicals aged 18–29.[3]
Like Pew, the study found a significant age divide. Very strong support for Israel stood at only 8.3 percent among Protestants ages 18–29, compared with 28.5 percent among those 65 and older.
But researchers discovered something important when they stopped treating everyone under 30 as a single generation. The weakest support for Israel was heavily concentrated among the youngest adults—particularly those ages 18–22. Beginning around ages 23 and 24, support started climbing. Among those ages 25–29, “very strong” support for Israel generally ranged between roughly 12 and 17 percent.[4]
The researchers in this study, Dr. Kirill Bumin and Dr. Motti Inbari, explain that what looks like a permanent generational rejection of Israel may actually be better explained by life-cycle theory, which holds that people’s priorities and perspectives naturally change and moderate over time as they assume adult responsibilities such as careers, marriage, and raising families. This would explain why support for Israel jumped sharply between the early and middle 20s. The theory would also account for why strong Palestinian support was concentrated disproportionately among the youngest respondents and tended to decline with age. If this interpretation proves correct, today’s 19-year-old critic of Israel is not necessarily tomorrow’s 35-year-old anti-Zionist.[5]
A Closer Look at Theology
Bumin and Inbari’s research also complicates another commonly suggested explanation for declining evangelical support: that younger Christians are simply abandoning the theology that once connected evangelicals to Israel, one of the reasons Christianity Today cited.
Using the National Association of Evangelicals’ (NAE) four-part doctrinal definition of evangelicalism, the study emphasized biblical authority, conversion, Jesus’s atonement, and Christian witness. Protestants who strongly affirmed all four beliefs were labeled “NAE evangelicals” and were 97 percent more likely to support Israel than non-NAE respondents, even after researchers controlled for theological, political, and sociological variables.
Across every age group, roughly two-thirds to nearly three-quarters of doctrinally defined NAE evangelicals affirmed that God’s covenant with the Jewish people remains intact. Among 18–29-year-olds, 64.9 percent of NAE evangelicals affirmed the continuing Abrahamic covenant. Belief in that eternal covenant increased the odds of strong support for Israel by 81 percent. In other words, young evangelicals who retain historic evangelical convictions are substantially more likely to retain a theological commitment to Israel as well.
This is very hopeful news for us at the Alliance, as one of our purposes is to promote a theology that gives Israel a proper place in the story of the Bible and that is relevant and sensitive to the theological and social issues of the Middle East conflict.
As most NAE evangelicals affirmed in the study, we too believe that when God called His covenant with Abraham an “everlasting” covenant, He meant it: “He has remembered His covenant forever . . . the covenant which He made with Abraham and . . . to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.’” (Psalm 105:8–11, emphasis added). The apostle Paul added, when speaking of God’s covenant with Israel, “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:28–29).
Conversations Create Change
Interestingly, Bumin and Inbari also found that the more frequently respondents discussed Israel with fellow Christians, the more likely they were to support Israel. Each increase in discussion frequency was associated with a 34-percent increase in the likelihood of stronger support. Someone who discussed Israel with fellow church members weekly was 102 percent more likely to express strong support than someone who never did.
This too is great news for those of us who strive to share biblical truth concerning Israel and the Jewish people. Another of our stated purposes at the Alliance is to stimulate theological discussions, host conferences, and produce resources to share with the church about God’s truth concerning Israel and the Jewish people. This research gives us hope that these efforts are not in vain—they really do create change!
In conclusion, although Pew’s research shows a generational divide over Israel and seems to indicate evangelical support is “slipping to a new low,” Chosen People Ministries’ research study provides great hope that this generational divide is actually not what it seems, that those who uphold biblical truth (NAE evangelicals) still believe God will fulfill His promises to Israel, and that sharing biblical truth about Israel changes minds and hearts.
Jennifer Miles is the director of communications for the Alliance for the Peace of Jerusalem and a staff apologist for Chosen People Ministries. She earned her master’s degree in Christian Apologetics from Biola University and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Stockton University. She is passionate about sharing biblical truth about Israel and the Jewish people and reaching God’s chosen people with the good news of their Messiah.
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[1] Harvest Prude, “Evangelical Views Toward Israel Slip to New Low,” Christianity Today, July 22, 2026, https://www.christianitytoday.com/2026/07/israel-gaza-war-american-evangelical-christians-survey.
[2] Becka A. Alper and Laura Silver, “Americans’ Views of Israelis Have Grown Increasingly Negative, but Views of Palestinians Have Held Fairly Steady,” Pew Research Center, July 9, 2026, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/07/09/americans-views-of-israelis-have-grown-increasingly-negative-but-views-of-palestinians-have-held-fairly-steady/
[3] Kirill Bumin and Motti Inbari, “Post-10/7 Survey of Christian Attitudes Toward Israel and the Jewish People.” The full research study is available upon request.
[4] Bumin and Inbari.
[5] To read more about this study and theory, read our article, “Are Young Evangelicals Abandoning Israel?”
