Evangelical leaders in the United States indicated in a recent survey that other than their own nation, they most admire the government in the United Kingdom—with Israel following close behind.
When asked “Other than the United States of America, what government in the world do you most admire?,” evangelical leaders named a variety of democratic countries with the United Kingdom leading at 27 percent. Other ranking countries included Israel, 23 percent; Canada, 19 percent; Australia, 15 percent; and Germany, 8 percent.
Evangelicals have long engaged in education, medical care and missions in countries around the world. This engagement led to the August Evangelical Leaders Survey asking what countries evangelical leaders admire besides the U.S.
“Love for country and patriotism is a common characteristic of American Christians,” said Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals. “We are also ‘world Christians’ who care about other nations and are open to learning from and blessing other nations.”
In many ways the leaders chose countries that are most like the United States, especially those with strong Christian history. All the countries named also have strong democracies.
Of the U.K., Ron Hamilton of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference said, “This government continues to play a significant role in seeking world peace while supporting other world leaders in the fight against terrorism and despotism.”
U.S. evangelicals have also been traditionally supportive of the nation of Israel. Harry Jackson, chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, praised Israel’s level of innovation and utilization of resources.
Paul de Vries of the New York Divinity School labeled Israel as a “vibrant democracy, committed to core biblical values in a dangerous part of the world.”
“While the most admired nations are all democracies and generally have prosperous economies, none have evangelical movements that are as large and strong as in the United States,” Anderson said.
The Evangelical Leaders Survey is a monthly poll of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Evangelicals. They include the CEOs of denominations and representatives of a broad array of evangelical organizations including missions, universities, publishers and churches.
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