Beyond the End Times: What evangelical support for Israel really reveals

(RNS) — American evangelicals are often described as some of Israel’s strongest supporters, but also among its most misunderstood. The familiar critique is that they care about Israel because the modern Jewish state fits their expectations about the End Times and that Jewish people matter primarily because of the role they are believed to play in Christian eschatology.

That critique persists because many evangelicals hold strong beliefs about biblical prophecy, Jerusalem, the return of Christ and the theological importance of the Jewish people. Yet that is too simple. Evangelical support for Israel is often connected to theology, but that does not mean it is merely instrumental.

For the past eight years, we have studied evangelical public opinion toward Jews, Judaism and Israel. Our earlier work found that religious motivations remain the primary drivers of evangelical support for Israel but are not reducible to predictions about the imminent end of the world. They are also shaped by the belief that Jews remain God’s Chosen People today and enduringly.

Our recent survey research suggests something more surprising: Although doctrinally committed evangelicals are more likely…