During his campaign to return to the White House, President Donald Trump promised to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and to shut down diversity programs in the federal government and higher education.
He also promised to restore Christians to power and religious faith to its rightful place in America.
“With your help and God’s grace, the great revival of America begins on Nov. 5,” he told a gathering of religious broadcasters in February of 2024.
Since taking office, Trump has sought to make good on those promises, launching a program of mass deportation and seeking to cut off funds to colleges and even houses of worship that have DEI programs.
His policies, however, may end up making America less religious, and in particular, less Christian, in the future. That’s in large part because younger white Americans are one of the least religious groups in the country — while nonwhite Americans and immigrants are among the most religious.
Your tax-deductible gift supports our mission of reporting the truth and restoring the church. Donate $50 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you can elect to receive “To Heal or Harm” by Steven R. Tracy, click here.
Fewer than half (43%) of white Americans ages 18-29 identify as Christian, with only half overall (51%) claiming any religious identity, according to data from the latest Pew Religious Landscape Study. Nearly half (48%) are religiously unaffiliated — meaning that among white Americans under 30, the so-called nones outnumber Christians.
By contrast, more than half (53%) of Black Americans and Hispanic Americans (54%) under 30 identify as Christian, while 60% of young Black Americans and 61% of Hispanic Americans identify as religious.
Only younger Asian Americans (26%) and those from a multiracial background (42%) are less Christian than young white Americans. Still, young Asian Americans are more religious (53%), with 27% being affiliated with a non-Christian faith.
Among Americans between 30 and 49, only 27% of Black Americans are unaffiliated, while 31% of Hispanic Americans are unaffiliated. By contrast, 41% of Americans between 30 and 49 are religiously unaffiliated.
America’s Christian population has also become more diverse over time, according to Pew’s data.
In 2007, for example, 70% of all American Christians were white. By the latest study, with data collected in 2023-2024, that percentage had dropped to 61%. Among Christians over 65, three-quarters are white (75%), while 11% are black and 8% are Hispanic.
Among Christians under 30, only 46% are white, while 14% are Black and 30% are Hispanic.
The Rev. Gabriel Salguero, pastor of The Gathering Place, a multiethnic Assemblies of God congregation in Orlando, Florida, said that without immigrants, many evangelical and Pentecostal denominations would be in trouble. The same would be true for the Catholic Church.
“If it were not for Latino immigrants and Asian immigrants and African immigrants, they would be on the decline,” said Salguero, who is also president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. He pointed to the Assemblies of God, which, like other Pentecostal groups, has been growing during a time when religion in America is on the decline.
According to Pew, about a third of the members of the Assemblies of God were either born outside the U.S. (22%) or have at least one parent born outside the U.S. (10%) — up from 23% in 2007. One in four is Hispanic.
Among U.S. Catholics, more than 40% are immigrants or children of immigrants (29% and 14%, respectively). More than a third (36%) are Hispanic.
By contrast, only 8% of Southern Baptists are either immigrants (6%) or children of immigrants (2%). The SBC, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., has experienced a steep decline over the past 20 years.
Salguero said that if Christianity is going to be revitalized in the U.S., immigrants, and especially Hispanic immigrants, will play a key role.
“Everybody’s talking about revival, but sometimes they fail to see the link between immigration and revival and the arrival of immigrants who are committed to the gospel,” he said. “The revitalization of U.S. Christianity, whether it’s Catholicism or evangelicalism, is in large part due to immigrants.”
Robert Jones, president of the Public Religion Research Institute and author of “The End of White Christian America,” which details America’s demographic changes, said that without immigration, the Catholic Church in the U.S. would have faced a steep decline.
He said Catholics have remained about a quarter of the U.S. population, despite the overall decline in religious affiliation, according to PRRI’s data. Without Hispanic immigration, largely from Mexico and Central America, “the number of Catholics in the country would essentially be half of what it is today.”
The immigration crackdown is already having an impact on religious practice, with some Hispanic Catholics and other Christians staying away from church out of fear of deportation.
Jones said revival among white Christians is unlikely — in part because the politics of those conservative churches, which lean Republican, often clash with the values of younger Americans. In particular, he said younger women are disaffiliating from churches.
“There has been this culture clash between the stances of the more conservative white Christian churches and younger Americans,” he said.
That political clash is more prominent among young white Americans, who often do not believe it is possible to be religious and liberal, said author and political scientist Ryan Burge, a professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis.
“There’s space in nonwhite parts of American society to be liberal and be a person of faith,” he said. “That’s not as true for white Americans — for them, religion is inherently conservative.”
If cutting immigration makes Americans less religious, then why do so many Christians seem to support Trump’s plan for mass deportation?
The answer is that American Christians from different ethnic groups hold vastly different views about immigration and what it means to make America great again. Michael Emerson, a sociologist and author who has long studied the racial divides in American Christianity, said that among practicing Christians in the U.S., those who are white are the least likely to support immigration — legal or otherwise. That’s in part, he said, out of a desire to return to a time when white Christians were the dominant demographic in the country.
“If you are someone who believes that this country was founded as a Christian nation, you would think you would be open to all Christians,” said Emerson, co-author of “Divided by Faith” and a fellow in religion and public policy at Rice University’s Baker Center.
“But what gets woven in is that a Christian nation is also a white or Western version of Christianity — and immigration gets in the way of that.”
Podcaster and conservative personality Tucker Carlson, known for his controversial takes on American culture — and his recent interview with antisemitic activist Nick Fuentes — has blamed immigration for the decline of religion in America.
But the reality is that America has become less religious — about 28% of Americans claim no religion — because white Americans are less religious. Most recent immigrants, Emerson said, are religious, and many are Christians.
America’s growing diversity among young people has already transformed college ministries such as InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, which had about 28,000 students involved in its small groups on campuses last year — and hosts the Urbana missions conference, which will be held in Phoenix in late December.
About 40% of the students involved with InterVarsity are immigrants or children of immigrants, said Greg Jao, senior assistant to the president of the ministry. And for the past five years, more than half the students involved in the ministry have been nonwhite.
That diversity reflects the demographics of the college campuses where InterVarsity works, said Jao.
“And it reflects the future of America, because while Gen Z is decades away from defining America, that’s what the future will look like,” he said.
He said the diversity of InterVarsity flows from the group’s theology.
“This is deeply grounded in our biblical commitments,” he said. “And so that doesn’t change, regardless of whether racial reconciliation and allied issues are popular or unpopular.”
Jao said the group’s diversity brings with it pastoral challenges. For example, he said, how do Hispanic students wrestle with Bible passages such as Romans 13, which instructs believers to “be subject to the governing authorities,” in a time of government crackdown on immigration?
Jao, who used to oversee InterVarsity’s work in New York, where many students were immigrants or the children of immigrants, said the ministry wants to reach people of all backgrounds.
“How do we reach the secularized, agnostic, atheist, white student in our midst?” he said. “Because we can’t be satisfied if they’re missing in the community as well.”
Bob Smietana is a national reporter for Religion News Service.
English 
Spanish
30 Responses
We, as believers, are to follow Jesus. He calls us to love everyone, regardless of skin color. He calls us to follow the law, regardless of whether we like it or not.
Our dividing line as believers should fall along one line only: Those who continue to sin and call themselves “Christians”, and those who take up their cross to follow Jesus daily, attempting with his help to lead a holy life worthy of His calling.
It is not about race. It has always been about sin. God will grow His church regardless of its racial make-up. He does not need us – We need Him.
One last point: ALL AMERICANS ARE IMMIGRANTS. Every single one of us. However, not all Americans came here by breaking immigration laws. There is a difference between “illegal immigration” and “legal immigration.” The article mixes them interchangeably, so it’s difficult to regard the article as anything even remotely resembling trustworthy. In short, a rather disingenuous fluff piece.
I agree. It conflates a lot of false premises. As well as leaving out valid premises. This author has continued to in many articles stir up those who function on an EQ level. For example here’s a false dichotomy, he quotes, “If you are someone who believes that this country was founded as a Christian nation, you would think you would be open to all Christians,” If that was true then you must disregard the Text (Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13 and Matthew 22:17-21). When one functions on Religious EQ, not Biblical IQ then the text doesn’t matter. Thus you have a group of religious people not Biblical followers of Jesus. Jesus did say one few go through the narrow gate (and He was referring to borders).
“If that was true then you must disregard the Text (Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13 and Matthew 22:17-21).”
Seems to me that if we take the above passages as prescriptive and doctrinal (instead of instructional) then, one must turn jews over to the authorities in Nazi occupied Europe (Denmark, the Netherlands, etc). That was the law back then. OTOH, harboring and protecting Jews was a criminal act punishable even by death.
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” ~Jesus
And in antebellum America, the Fugitive Slave Act decreed that it was a federal crime to harbor, aid and abet a fugitive slave. Because a fugitive slave was a fugitive from justice.
In 1998, Al Mohler, the current President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, appeared on Larry King Live. During the interview, Mohler denied that Scripture “endorses” slavery but allowed that the Bible “does say, if you’re a slave, there’s a way to behave.” King asked if Mohler condemned runaway slaves such as Harriet Tubman. “Well,” Mohler replied, “I want to look at this text seriously, and it says submit to the master. And I really don’t see any loophole here, as much as, in terms of popular culture, we’d want to see one.” ~Scott M. Coley, Ministers of Propaganda
What does that say about the “christianity” of believers who actively participated in the Underground Railroad? Not much, according to Al.
“… for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: JUSTICE and MERCY and faith.” ~Jesus, caps mine
One can be quite biblical without being Christ-like.
David Jayakaran:
As already stated, God’s law, as revealed in His Word, trumps any and all human laws. NOWHERE in the Bible will you find God condoning the slavery of Blacks or the murder of Jews.
God’s law trumps human laws every time. The slavery mentioned in the New Testament is completely different from the slavery experienced in 19th Century America. No comparison. Indeed, slaves mentioned in the New Testament often inherited property and were adopted into families.
You seem confused regarding the difference between anti-Biblical laws and the mandate to follow the law found in Jesus’ words.
God is not confusing or confused: His character speaks throughout the Bible and those who walk with him know the difference between laws that comport with Biblical principles and laws that do not.
EXCELLENT RESPONSE! I was going to leave a comment but I couldn’t have said it better than you. Thank you. I’m surprised Julie posted this article, tbh.
“He calls us to follow the law, regardless of whether we like it or not.”
If a law causes me to be un-Christlike, do I follow it… or do I follow Jesus?
By the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 (in the original US Constitution,) a fugitive from slavery was a fugitive from justice (ergo, slavery = justice). What about Christians who were part of the Underground Railroad at that time? Jesus said, “Do to others as you’d like them to do to you…” (Matthew 7:12). So, if I want to live free, isn’t it Christ-like to help someone who is involuntarily enslaved to be free? Even at the risk of being a law breaker?
More recently, in Nazi occupied Europe (Denmark, the Netherlands, etc) they enacted legislation criminalizing the protection of Jews. Are Christians supposed to “follow the law”? Or, lay their lives down for their fellow man?
“not all Americans came here by breaking immigration laws. There is a difference between “illegal immigration” and “legal immigration”.”
So? Who made those laws? Suppose I steal a large piece of land from you, by violating four of God’s Commandments (Exodus 20:13, 15-17). Then create a thriving town and society with “righteous” laws… including those to keep people out and pick and choose who I want to let in. Does that change the fact that the land was stolen? What did “illegal immigration” look like from the perspective of the Native American? What say did they have as their land was steadily taken away?
“There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice.” ~Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron Montesquieu
“Render to God that which is God’s” ~Jesus
David Jayakaran:
God’s laws trump human laws every time. If a human law conflicts with Biblical law, it is to be ignored.
The Bible does not, and never did, support the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. Thus, it was ignored by those who followed Christ. Same thing with the laws created by Nazis – IGNORED by those who followed Christ. In contrast, laws protecting private property and national borders are supported in the Bible.
Regarding Native Americans, they did not “own” land, so it could not be stolen. In many Native American cultures (there were quite a few different ones!), land was a gift to be shared. This in no way excuses the treatment many received at the hands of European immigrants, but it does explain how land could be easily taken from them by those who believed they had a mandate to do so. Private property is something some cultures do not understand.
Native Americans “did not own land”. From whose point of view? Ours or theirs? God’s or man’s?
Seems to me that in God’s eyes, there are pre-appointed boundaries for different people groups (Acts 17:26). “Although Europe represents only about 8 percent of the planet’s landmass, from 1492 to 1914, Europeans conquered or colonized more than 80 percent of the entire world.” Does that mean that God intended Europeans to own and rule most of the planet?
“In many Native American cultures (there were quite a few different ones!), land was a gift to be shared.”
Seems like a double-standard when we break up families, and inflict misery on people, for “sharing” what is now “ours”… against our will. While we justify “sharing” someone else’s land when much of it was done against their will? Slave laws back then were unrighteous? But immigration laws today are righteous (Matthew 18:23-35)?
The real truth is a bit darker. The Doctrine of Discovery, codified by the Western church between 1452 and 1493, “established that any land not under the flag of a sovereign Christian nation could be claimed by the discoverer.” The DoD is alive and well today, not only in christian spaces, but also in American jurisprudence… even as recently as 2005.
My issue isn’t with politics. Caesar is as Caesar does (Matthew 22:21, John 18:36). I’m just a pilgrim passing through; a citizen of the Kingdom of God (Hebrews 11:13, 1 Peter 2:11). The more Christians try to justify their ideologies or Caesar’s laws, the more they have to compromise their biblical integrity and Christ-likeness.
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; a tree is known by its fruit.” ~Jesus
“…but it does explain how land could be easily taken from them by those who believed they had a mandate to do so.”
I agree. The Doctrine of Discovery codified in the 15th century by the European church, and Manifest Destiny justified their mandate to do so. A mandate that supposedly came from God.
“Private property is something some cultures do not understand.”
I agree. Since some cultures “do not understand” that concept, then all that land is “free and vacant”, and there for the taking. Coveting does not apply here.
I’m reminded of WC Fields, known for his wit and sarcasm, who started reading the Bible in his declining years. When asked whether he was finding religion, he answered “nah, I’m just looking for the loopholes”.
“When the missionaries (Europeans) came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land. They said “Let us pray.” We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land.” ~Desmond Tutu
“The blessing of Jehovah – it makes rich, And He adds no grief with it” (Proverbs 10:22). So, when human misery accompanies what someone, especially a brother or sister in Christ, claims to be righteous or godly, I sit up and take notice.
“.. you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.” ~Jesus
Interesting points, David Jayakaran, but you fail to recognize that human misery is often caused by sin. If people break our nation’s laws, they often experience misery. Coming into another country illegally often results in misery, so I would always recommend people do it legally.
Christians can help others without encouraging them to break the law. A nation without its sovereignty is a weaker nation. A nation without borders is not a nation at all. The USA has a right to enforce laws that protect our borders. Many nations in the world do the same.
Regarding missionaries in Africa, much abuse took place, no question about it. Of course, it all comes back to sin again: Treating people as “less than” because of their skin color is sin. Stealing private property is sin. Coveting private property is sin. I could go on…
We cannot single out any one group as the biggest sinner because God says ALL OF US ARE SINNERS. We are saved by His grace alone, not by our personal righteousness.
So, ultimately, we can “feminize” laws and rely on our feelings and stop thinking, or we can follow the law and continue to help and love others at the same time. Again, I am talking about laws that coincide with Biblical principles here. Our immigration laws definitely coincide with Biblical principles.
“Our immigration laws definitely coincide with Biblical principles.“
How so? And when? I listed a whole history of problematic immigration laws that we are STILL correcting. Even recently, our POTUS was talking about preferential treatment to white South Africans (when data shows South Africans of ALL colors are impacted by robberies/killings). How is that Biblical?
Or is there another aspect you’re referring to?
My family had been here since pre- revolutionary. So sorry, NO, we are not all immigrants. My family shed blood fighting for freedom and built churches, businesses and communities and law and order! The problem is the too many immigrants in a short period and lack of assimilation, as result the culture, traditions and customs are being destroyed!
jamie:
If your family’s ancestors traveled here from another land, they are immigrants regardless of how long they have lived here. My ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War – they were still immigrants from the UK.
Thank you, Cynthia. I agree. Also, it’s interesting how we completely ignore the perspective of the Native Americans, the original inhabitants of this land. When debating such issues. As if they didn’t exist or don’t count.
David jayakaran:
One more quick point: It is now believed our Native Americans actually arrived AFTER another people group. Have you heard this too? Very interesting. Scholars have studied migration patterns and think our Native Americans crossed from Asia a long, long, long, long, long time ago.
Stated differently, the world’s inhabitants have been moving around since the Tower of Babel days. Even the Jewish people started somewhere else.
And before the revolutionary war, where did your family come from? Even the Founding Fathers were immigrants from Britain. We ALL came from somewhere (I’m a proud descendant of slaves), it’s just a matter of when and how.
There are PLENTY of immigrants (and descendants of slaves) who also have fought in our wars, built businesses and communities, and served in law enforcement. Where do you think “Chinatown” communities came from? Or who built that Mexican restaurant where you love to get your “Taco Tuesdays” on?
No one community OWNS or ONLY did any of what you say.
Cynthia –
I agree with many aspects of your reply – that we are called to live a holy life and that all Americans are immigrants.
Yet to make claims like “it is not about race” is to ignore this nation’s past and present immigration laws, policies, and limitations. The Page Law, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Immigration and Naturalization Act established QUOTAS and restrictions to favor those migrating from “white” countries for DECADES. The Indian Citizenship Act FINALLY established that Native Americans were citizens in 1924. This means prior to 1924, Native Americans could be moved off of land and could not vote based on being “illegal aliens”. We can go on and on up through the 20th century (laws were still being written through the 90s) and see the back and forth over who should be “allowed” here – and a LOT of it is based on race. So when people talk about “my family came here legally”, depending on when, where they came from, and their race, their story may not be an “apples to apples” comparison.
To sum it up, many who are labeled as “wanting open borders” want to revisit our immigration laws and policies, as they believe honoring racist laws and policies is to disobey God.
Second, many are conflating being against how immigration laws are enforced with being for “open borders”, myself included. And my response is: seeing ICE repeatedly punch a man in the face to get him to let go of a crying baby – I have a tough time seeing that as Christian. “The end justifies the means” is NOT Christian. I don’t have the answer, but I DO know we need to do better about HOW we are enforcing our laws.
You’re exactly right, the color of one’s skin or the country from where you originated has nothing to do with it. Those who come here legally have always been welcomed.
Yet race/color has systematically played a role in the laws and policies that declare who can come here legally. If we are preferring or only allowing and welcoming to those of a certain race/color or nation of origin, how can we say race/color has nothing to do with it?
Deportations have been going on for years (Even under Obama and Biden) but what disturbs me is the celebration of it under Trump. It has normalized xenophobia and contempt for non-whites. Illegals now have been blamed for many things and are being vilified and hated. The chant “Build that wall” was shouted by Trump and his supporters during his first term which is evidence of this.
Sad, Very sad
Our immigration problem is our leaders fault both republicans and democrats, for different reasons each party has allowed too many immigrants to come in — in a short amount time. Which has never happened in our history but when it does it undermines, erodes and destroys the current historical traditions and citizenship and is why we have a “culture civil war”. Unfortunately, the only way to avoid chaos is sending as many out as possible and to stop all further immigration and force assimilation! They must know or learn English and honor American traditions. Otherwise you don’t have a peaceful country!!
FYI, the US doesn’t have a national language. Even an executive order is just that….it establishes the “rules of operation” for that particular administration. It’s not a law.
This needs to be shouted from the rooftops! Thank you for affirming that we are a nation of immigrants and mass deportation without due process is morally wrong.
Putting aside the issue of illegal immigration, it appears clear that under Trump (both 1st term and the 2nd so far), there has been far less legal immigration. From that perspective, the point of the article stands. Though Trump seems to some to be the ticket to a “more Christian Nation,” the opposite is taking place.
I suppose it is possible that Trump desires our nation to be more Christian and spiritually revived, but I doubt it – see that more as wishful thinking than based on evidence.
If someone breaks into your house are you supposed to make up the spare bedroom and tell them they are welcome to stay?
Sounds like these illegal immigrant supporters who claim to be Christian, would defy the police or ICE knocking on the door requesting to detain the intruder. Interesting.
“Sounds like these illegal immigrant supporters who claim to be Christian, would defy the police or ICE knocking on the door requesting to detain the intruder.”
That statement is packed with a lot of inference and assumption. No one has said that.
Direct quote from the Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2026:
“The admissions of up to 7,500 refugees to the United States during Fiscal Year 2026 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.
The admissions numbers shall primarily be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa pursuant to Executive Order 14204, and other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands.”
When did we stop lifting our lamp beside the golden door – to the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
the wretched refuse of a teeming shore, the homeless and the tempest-tost…?
I see a few Republicans are wondering about the long term effects of Trump/Miller/ICE tactics…. their wickedness and its bad fruit may be turning the tide against them. Lord, hasten the tide and the demise of their wicked ways.
http://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/23/north-carolina-immigration-raids-trump-00665164
Well, we kind of know what side of the agrument the author lands on in this article.
What a goofy article. The title of it would be more believable if the Babylon Bee used it. Most of the content sounds made up and doesn’t acurately describe the current mood in this country. Especially in regards to the faith temperature check of Gen Z. The pollsters and pundits are asking wrong questions and looking in all the wrong places to get info on that generation in regards to faith.