Who Embraces Diversity in America — And Who Doesn’t

(ANALYSIS) Is there a more loaded word in American discourse right now than “diversity”?

It seems you can almost sort Americans into two camps based on how often they use the term. It certainly played a central role during the 2024 Presidential campaign.

Donald Trump placed it center stage by railing against DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs. In the wake of Trump’s successful bid for the White House, hundreds of universities have either scaled back or completely dismantled offices on campus that focused on DEI type initiatives. That’s also true of major tech companies like Google and Meta, which have pledged to entirely rethink how they hire people.

For those who study concepts like Christian Nationalism - they often point to the fact that the United States is becoming less white and less Christian with each passing year.

That becomes the motivation for pushing a Christian Nationalist agenda. They want to ensure that their racial group and religious preference are dominant in the discourse. But, are people actually concerned with the possibility that the country is becoming more racially and religiously diverse? The Pew Religious Landscape Study, released a few months ago, asked two questions that are helpful in probing these matters.

You can read the rest of Ryan Burge’s post on his Substack page.

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Ryan Burge is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, a pastor in the American Baptist Church and the co-founder and frequent contributor to Religion in Public, a forum for scholars of religion and politics to make their work accessible to a more general audience. His research focuses on the intersection of religiosity and political behavior, especially in the U.S. Follow him on X at @ryanburge.