---
title: "Evangelical Support for Israel"
description: "Nearly two-thirds of white evangelical Protestants (64%) say helping to protect Israel should be a very important policy goal for the U.S. in the Middle East, compared with 34% of white mainline Protestants and 36% of white Catholics."
date: "2011-04-06"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2011/04/06/evangelical-support-for-israel/"
---

# Evangelical Support for Israel

Nearly two-thirds of white evangelical Protestants (64%) say helping to protect Israel should be a very important policy goal for the United States in the Middle East, compared with 34% of white mainline Protestants and 36% of white Catholics. Overall, just 39% say helping to protect Israel should be a very important policy goal of U.S. policy. A wide divide on this question also appears along partisan lines, although the main factor in this regard appears to be degree of conservatism rather than party preference. A minority of both Democrats (34%) and independents (36%) say helping to protect Israel should be a very important goal for U.S. policy in the Middle East. However, even fewer moderate Republicans (27%) share this view. By comparison, among conservative Republicans, 62% see helping to protect Israel as a top policy concern, more than double the proportion of moderate Republicans who say this. [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/pubs/1950/poll-fewer-see-goal-libya-policy-goals-middle-east-terrorism-oil-democracy-israel)