The PRRI 2026 American Values Survey highlights differing views on empathy across religious and political affiliations. A significant majority of religiously unaffiliated Americans, 83%, consider empathy a foundational moral value crucial for a healthy society. Similarly, large proportions of other non-Christian religious groups and Jewish Americans also hold this view. In stark contrast, a majority of white evangelical Protestants, 54%, believe empathy can be detrimental if it deviates from a society guided by divine truth. Only 42% of white evangelical Protestants agree that empathy is a foundational moral value. This suggests a general consensus across most religious groups and the unaffiliated regarding empathy's positive societal role. Conversely, white evangelical Protestants express concern about empathy potentially leading people astray from religious principles. The survey also indicates partisan divides in these perspectives, although specifics are not detailed here. This divergence points to a cultural tension regarding the role of empathy in societal development. The article notes that the term "not strongly agree" implies agreement, not disagreement.