American & Israeli Christians have difference in opinion regarding Israel, says survey

A study conducted by the Pew Research Center reveals that Christians in the United States have views on Israel that are different from those Christians living in the Jewish state.

As summarized by CBN, 66 percent of Christians who were born, grew up and live in Israel do not think that the country was literally given by God to the Jewish people, while 9 percent are undecided. Only 19 percent think that it's true in a literal sense, a number that is dwarfed by the 82 percent of white evangelicals who believe likewise. The latter number was taken from a survey done in 2013.

There are other areas in which those in the U.S. and those in Israel do not agree, such as expansion of Jewish settlements and the support that the U.S. is giving Israel.

Comparing the recent survey with one done in 2013, 86 percent of Christians in Israel think that the U.S. gives too much support for their country, while only 18 percent of Christians in America think in the same way. Six percent of Israeli Christians believe that the support is not enough while 29 percent of American Christians have similar views. Only 7 percent of Christians in Israel think the support is just right, much lower than the 41 percent of American Christians with the same opinion.

CBN chief international correspondent Gary Lane believes that the difference in opinion is mainly due to the politics that they have been exposed to.

He said in an interview on CBN News, "These Christians in Israel have been influenced by politics. They've also been influenced by a different life experience than what many American Christians experienced here in the U.S. So their experience half a world away is much different than ours."

Meanwhile, 34 percent of Israeli Christians pray daily, while 68 percent of American Christians do; and 38 percent of those in Israel go to church at least once a week, lower than 47 percent of those in America.

A study conducted by the research center from October 2014 to May 2015 revealed that only 2 percent of Israel's population is Christian, namely Catholic and Orthodox Christians, with only 0.5 percent comprised of Protestants and Messianic Jews; while 1 percent of the population is categorized as other/no religion. This is part of 19 percent who are non-Jewish while the Jewish comprise 81 percent.

There were 468 Christians who participated in the recent survey.