The right has a growing empathy problem.
Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, a new survey from Washington, D.C.-based Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that Democrats (84%) and Independents (70%) are more likely than Republicans (53%) to see empathy as a net positive to society.
White evangelical Protestants are the only religious group in which a majority does not agree that empathy is a foundational moral value (42%). Instead, a majority (54%) say they believe empathy can be dangerous.
