Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

PRRI @prri.org · 13h

President Trump is questioning whether all furloughed federal workers will receive back pay.
PRRI’s survey 100 days into the Trump administration found that 71% of Americans oppose closing or drastically shrinking major federal agencies, even if it means things like airline travel may be less safe.

President Trump says some furloughed federal workers ‘don’t deserve’ back pay

President Donald Trump said some furloughed federal workers “don’t deserve” to receive back pay when the federal government shutdown is over.

www.usatoday.com

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PRRI @prri.org · 1d

Thanks for your feedback, and we agree about the importance of sharing a survey’s date and methodology. This PRRI survey was conducted Feb. 28-March 20 as the Trump administration began ramping up immigration arrests.

We're releasing new survey data on Oct. 22 & would love to have you there:

Taking the pulse of the nation: Americans’ views in Trump’s second term | Brookings

Join the Governance Studies Program and the Public Religion Research Institute on October 22 in launching the 16th annual American Values Survey.

www.brookings.edu

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PRRI @prri.org · 1d

Read more: prri.org/research/dem...

Democracy at a Crossroads: How Americans View Trump’s First 100 Days in Office

PRRI interviewed more than 5,000 adults to assess Americans’ views on President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. This survey explores voter satisfaction and regret, Trump’s job approval and…

prri.org

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PRRI @prri.org · 1d

Christians of color, non-Christians, and unaffiliated Americans are less likely to approve of Trump's handling of immigration: 39% of Jewish Americans approve, as well as 35% of religiously unaffiliated Americans, 34% of Hispanic Protestants, and 29% of both Hispanic Catholics and Black Protestants

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PRRI @prri.org · 1d

White Christians are the most likely to approve - 78% of white evangelical Protestants, along with 65% of Latter-day Saints, 64% of white mainline/non-evangelical Protestants, and 63% of white Catholics approve of the job that Trump is doing handling immigration.

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PRRI @prri.org · 1d

PRRI’s latest survey finds that Americans are evenly divided in their views of how President Trump is handling immigration (48% approve, 49% disapprove). Nearly all Republicans (90%) approve of the job Trump is doing on immigration, compared with 48% of independents and 13% of Democrats

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PRRI @prri.org · 1d

In Illinois, elected officials are calling for oversight and transparency following a "military-style" ICE raid on a South Shore Chicago apartment building.

www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...

Elected Illinois officials call for transparency into South Shore apartment raid

Neighbors at the South Shore building said they're concerned about what happened in their building and to their neighbors.

www.cbsnews.com

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PRRI @prri.org · 6d

On Wednesday, OMB Director Russell Vought said the Trump administration will start firing federal employees in the next “one to two” days.
PRRI found that 55% of Americans agree “President Trump has overstepped his authority by ordering the mass firing of federal employees across multiple agencies.”

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PRRI @prri.org · 6d

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s speech to military leaders included codifying the “highest male standards” for combat roles.
PRRI finds that Republicans (73%) are more likely to agree that society as a whole has become too soft and feminine than independents (42%) and Democrats (16%).

Hegseth uses rare meeting of generals to announce new military standards

He warned commanders who don’t support the changes could leave the service.

www.politico.com

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PRRI @prri.org · 7d

As the U.S. government prepares for a shutdown, the Trump administration is publicly blaming Democrats.
PRRI finds that 78% of Americans disagree with the statement “When decisions by Congress or the Supreme Court hold our country back, the president should be able to ignore them.”

Trump administration uses taxpayer dollars to blame Democrats for government shutdown

Federal employees across the government reported seeing similar messages. Experts say the messages may violate ethics laws meant to keep partisan politics out of day-to-day governing.

www.npr.org

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PRRI @prri.org · 12d

Across all religious groups, 50% or more oppose laws that make it illegal to ship abortion pills.

Read more about Americans’ conflicting views on abortion rights and access to medication abortion in this Spotlight Analysis from PRRI Public Fellow @michalraucher.bsky.social

Opposed to Abortion but Supportive of Shipping Abortion Pills?

Michal Raucher, Ph.D., is a 2024-2025 PRRI Public Fellow and Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She teaches courses on religion and reproduction…

prri.org

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PRRI @prri.org · 12d

The 2024 PRRI American Values Atlas finds that 63% of Americans say that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and over two-thirds of Americans (68%) oppose laws that would make it illegal to use or receive FDA-approved drugs for abortion through the mail.

abcnews.go.com/US/health-se...

RFK Jr. launches FDA review of abortion pill

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Republican states this week that the FDA would conduct a new review of abortion pills.

abcnews.go.com

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PRRI @prri.org · 12d

In his remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, President Trump called the UN’s efforts to raise awareness and curb the effects of climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”
PRRI finds 61% of Americans believe that climate change is caused mostly by human activity.

"Greatest con job": Trump pushes climate change denial at UNGA

"I'm telling you that if you don't get away from the green energy scam, your country is going to fail," Trump said..

www.axios.com

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PRRI @prri.org · 13d

Read the full report:

PRRI @prri.org · 13d

Learn more: prri.org/research/cha...

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PRRI @prri.org · 13d

- Republicans were 2x as likely as independents or Dems support armed poll watchers
- Republicans were also more likely to agree that “if the 2024 election is compromised by voter fraud, everyday Americans will need to ensure the rightful leader takes office, even if it requires violent actions”

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PRRI @prri.org · 13d

- 73% of Republicans w/ favorable views of Trump said they believe Democrats are determined to stay in power
- Among independents and Republicans w/ unfavorable views of Trump, larger percentages agreed that Republicans are determined to stay in power than Democrats

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PRRI @prri.org · 13d

Last year, PRRI polled Americans on their views of potential political violence ahead of the 2024 election:

- Nearly 1/2 of Americans said they believe Republicans are determined to stay in power even if it means resorting to political violence
- About 1/3 of Americans said the same about Democrats

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PRRI @prri.org · 15d

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to urge Attorney General Pam Bondi to speed up prosecutions of his political enemies.
PRRI finds that 63% of Republicans are “not at all confident” that Trump will use the power of the government to punish his enemies, compared with 6% of Democrats.

Trump publicly pushes Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute his political foes

Alongside the extraordinary demand, the president also named his former defense attorney late Saturday to replace the head of a key prosecutor’s office he forced out a day earlier.

www.nbcnews.com

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PRRI @prri.org · 19d

While PRRI finds that around 4 in 10 Americans hold strong authoritarian views, adherence to authoritarian and Christian nationalist views differ across race.

Read more in the Spotlight Analysis from PRRI Public Fellow Michael R. Fisher Jr., Ph.D., where he explores these differences.

Understanding Authoritarianism and Christian Nationalism by Race

Dr. Michael R. Fisher Jr. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of African American and African Studies at Ohio State University and a 2024-2025 PRRI Public Fellow. PRRI’s 2024 Religion and…

prri.org

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PRRI @prri.org · 20d

Register for today's event here!
➡️ raac.indianapolis.iu.edu/programs/rel...

PRRI @prri.org · 20d

Learn more as Dr. Whitehead breaks down the 5 elements of Christian nationalism — and how Project 2025 and the Trump administration are using them to their advantage.

Andrew Whitehead @andrew-whitehead.bsky.social · 23d

While the goal of infusing “biblical principles” into American civic life may seem innocuous to many Christians, it raises questions: Which biblical principles? Why those biblical principles?

andrewwhitehead.substack.com/p/five-eleme...

Five Elements of Christian Nationalism

Christian nationalism is not just "loving Jesus" and "loving America." The Christianity of Christian nationalism refers to a whole lot more.

andrewwhitehead.substack.com

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PRRI @prri.org · 20d

Interested in learning about cross-cultural Christian nationalism? PRRI Senior Democracy Fellow @andrew-whitehead.bsky.social, Ph.D., is hosting a panel discussion today, Sept. 18 from 3-4 PM ET, examining the similarities and differences between Christian nationalism in the U.S. and Brazil.

raac.indianapolis.iu.edu

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PRRI @prri.org · 22d

A new PRRI Spotlight Analysis examines which media sources Americans trust most for political news, as well as Americans’ confidence in news organizations and views of journalists in the current political climate.

Swipe through to explore the data and read more at PRRI.org.

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PRRI @prri.org · 23d

Discussing the Christian nationalism movement, PRRI President and Founder @robertpjones.bsky.social states, “This movement teaches a God-ordained hierarchy: men over women, parents over children, white over non-white, American over non-American … and that hierarchy exerts a strong pull.”

Angela Denker, Robert Jones warn of Christian nationalism’s grip

The veteran journalist and the Public Religion Research Institute founder discussed ways to respond to the theocratic movement at Cap Times Idea Fest.

captimes.com

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