When it comes to fast food restaurants, there is a clear winner among evangelicals: Chick-fil-A.
Evangelicals and fellow Christians have the most positive view of the Chick-fil-A brand, according to Morning Consult’s 2017 Community Impact Ratings.
In breakout poll results, 62 percent of evangelicals considered Chick-fil-A to have a positive impact on their community, compared to 48 percent of Americans on average.
Despite the 2012 boycotts spurred by Chick-fil-A Cheif Operating Officer Dan Cathy’s opposition to same-sex marriage, the Christian-owned company outperformed fellow fast food restaurants in the Morning Consult poll. This was particularly true in the South, home to a majority of the restaurant’s 2,200 locations, as well as among millennials.
More than half of adults ages 18–34 and 35–44 rated Chick-fil-A as having a positive impact, while older age brackets were less enthusiastic.
A researcher at The Hartman Group attributed Chick-fil-A’s continued popularity to beliefs that the chain had “higher-quality food, better customer service, and happier employees than similar fast-food restaurants.”
Chick-fil-A has been providing scholarships to its employees for 40 years, and this year nearly doubled it’s projected giving from $4.9 million to $8.8 million.
The restaurant is also popular among evangelicals because of its practice of closing down on Sunday’s.