Earlier this year, Keri Ladner wrote a series of articles for Good Faith Media explaining the history and impact of Identity Theology (IT). She focused on one of IT’s essential components: the Great Replacement Theory.

Under the Great Replacement Theory, the “white race,” as defined by those who, over time, labeled themselves “white,” is the default “race” for all Western nations. Any other group that moves into a “white community” negatively disrupts the essential identity of that community.

The theory has its roots in antisemitism but takes aim at any group of migrants moving into nations that are considered “white.”

According to a recent report by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), a third (33%) of all Americans hold to the basic tenets of the Great Replacement Theory.

The groups most likely to agree with the statement that “immigrants are invading our country and replacing our cultural and ethnic background” are Republicans (60%) and White Evangelical Protestants (54%). Only 14% of Democrats and 30% of Independents hold the view.

Less than half of other religiously identified groups believe the statement, including 45% of white Catholics, 31% of Jews and 21% of Black Protestants.

Slightly more than a third (35%) of all Americans believe the U.S. should take the extreme measure of rounding up all immigrants in the country illegally, “even if it takes setting up encampments guarded by the U.S. military.”

These rates are also led by Republicans (63%) and White Evangelical Protestants (55%). Only 16% of Democrats hold the view.

The PRRI report also asked respondents to share their thoughts on a phrase that has its roots in antisemitism– “Poisoning the blood of our country.” When asked if this phrase applies to immigrants entering the U.S. illegally, 35% of all Americans, 64% of Republicans and 54% of white Evangelical Protestants agreed that it does.

Notably, given the history of the phrase, 33% of Jewish Americans believe those in the U.S. illegally are “poisoning the blood of the country.”

The PRRI report was released amid a setting with immigration near the top of American voters’ minds. In the September Harvard CAPS-Harris poll, 33% of respondents named immigration their top election-year issue, second only to price increases/inflation, which came in at 45%. 

The subject of immigration has received further fuel in the media by recent unfounded accusations from GOP Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates Donald Trump and JD Vance that Haitian immigrants are eating their neighbors’ pets in Springfield, Ohio. (It should be noted that members of the Haitian community in Springfield are virtually all in the country legally.) 

The PRRI findings on immigration are part of a more comprehensive report on the connection between authoritarianism and Christian nationalism in America. 

The complete report, including its methodology, can be found here.