Sorry for the BRTD-style thread
Anyway, there seem to be some rather persistent myths about the group identified for demographic and political purpose as "White evangelical Protestants."
1.
They are one monolithic group. There are many, many different shades of "White evangelical Protestant." From the Southern Baptist Convention, to all the different Pentecostal sects, to different groups of Presbyterians, Lutherans, or Adventists, to the growing number of evangelicals who don't identify as any denomination at all, there is quite a bit of theological and denominational diversity among this segment of the population.
2.
They are almost all right-wing. Among older and middle-aged evangelicals, this is usually true, especially in recent years. Among the younger evangelicals, though, there is growing concern for poverty and the environment and somewhat less obsession with abortion and gay marriage, in general, than their older counterparts. Additionally, there are still some older white evangelicals in rural parts of the South in particular who hold on to their Democratic allegiances, particularly at the local/state levels.
3.
They are a poor, uneducated group of people. While there are many poor white evangelicals, particularly in rural parts of the South and elsewhere, a significant number have become solidly middle class in both income and educational attainment, and some are even wealthier than that. Again, many of them now go to large, high-budget non-denominational and denominational churches in the newer suburbs and exurbs around the country.
4.
They are mostly Southern. While the Southern states do have the largest proportion of white evangelicals, they have been growing in numbers around the country, particularly in the Midwest and West.
While some of the stereotypes have a basis in truth, I think sometimes, people overstate the case.
