Empathy divides Americans by religion, with white evangelicals standing apart

White evangelical Protestants are the only major U.S. religious group where a majority — 54% — says empathy can become dangerous when it leads people away from a society guided by God's truth, per PRRI's 2026 American Values Survey. Only 42% of white evangelicals call empathy a foundational moral value. Every other religious group had at least 66% agreement on empathy's importance.