White Evangelicals Struggle to Model Jesus's Love Once Again

This new poll from Pew that shows that white mainline Protestants are most likely to oppose torture under any conditions is not surprising. In fact, it is consistent with some research and interviews I did as a grad student back in the late 90s: mainline Protestants have a strong social justice interpretive framework that predisposes them to human rights issues.

It is also no surprise that Pew found that white evangelicals are least likely to oppose torture under any conditions. Absolute universal human rights views are not nearly as strongly held by white fundamentalists and evangelicals. (My research indicated that African American evangelicals were more disposed to social justice frames).

It is surprising to me that white Catholics lag far behind white mainliners in absolute opposition to torture and that their opposition is roughly comparable to white evangelicals. Catholic social teachings on human rights must be slipping among white laity in the "Mother Church."