New Study Shows that White Evangelicals are the Least Likely to Wear Masks in Public Places

A new Study by the Public Religion Research Institute shows that White Evangelical Protestants are much more likely than other religious groups to believe that shutdowns, mask mandates, and other steps taken by state and local governments during the pandemic are "unreasonable attempts to control people." Thankfully, it's not a majority, but about 40% of Evangelicals feel that way compared to about 19-25% within other religious groups and among religiously unaffiliated Americans.

And because of such suspicions, white Evangelicals are the least likely to wear masks in public places.

PRRI: "White evangelical Protestants (63%) stand out as the religious group least likely to say they always wear a mask. Around eight in ten or more of nearly every other religious group say they always wear a mask, including 85% of non-Christian religious Americans, 82% of religiously unaffiliated Americans, 80% of other Christians, 79% of Black Protestants, 79% of Hispanic Catholics, 78% of white Catholics, 78% of Hispanic Protestants, and 77% of white mainline Protestants."

Men seem to be the problem. Just a bit more than half of white Evangelical men say that they always wear masks when they visit public places.

The reason why white Evangelicals seem so suspicious about measures taken to battle the pandemic probably stems from their allegiance to Donald Trump. In fact, white Evangelical Protestants are about the only group of Americans to trust the President's statements concerning the crisis, and even they seems to be getting suspicious. Overall, only 14% of Americans trust Trump "to provide accurate information about the coronavirus pandemic." However, despite months of lies, disinformation, and chaos, 33% of Evangelicals still trust Trump to give them straight information concerning the Covid crisis.

As way too many fine Americans have learned, trusting Donald Trump can be hazardous to your health, and to the health of those you care about.

#coronavirus #research

By: Don Lam & Curated Content