A Pew Research poll has found that many Trump supporters do not believe the former President has any religious beliefs but nevertheless do think he works in the interests of religious communities. Only 8% of poll respondents said they believe Mr. Trump is “very religious,” while 51% think he is “somewhat religious,” and 38% don’t consider him religious at all. Just 11% feel he does not stand up for those with strong religious views.
While rarely expressing any spiritual devotion, Mr. Trump has tried to appeal to Christians and people of other faiths by attacking Democrats for failing the devout. “How any Christian can vote for a Democrat, Christian or person of faith, how you can vote for a Democrat is crazy,” Trump recently told a Christian Media Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. He then vowed to protect Christians from attacks by the “radical left.”
The Pew Research furthermore found high levels of support for the Republican Presidential candidate among America’s religious communities. It revealed that 51% of Catholics, 47% of white non-vangelical Protestants, and 45% of Hispanic Protestants have a favorable view of Mr. Trump.
Additionally, the former President is unpopular with atheists, 88% of whom see him in a negative light. Eighty percent of black Protestants similarly disapprove of Mr. Trump, as do 82% of agnostics and 79% of Jews. Overall, 59% of church-going Christians say they will cast their ballot for Trump in November.
Some commentators have expressed a hint of confusion about religious support for Donald Trump, particularly in light of allegations that he cheated on his wife with an adult actress and sexually assaulted author E. Jean Carroll in New York in the 1990s. Nonetheless, Robert Jeffress, pastor of an evangelical megachurch in Dallas, said it is Trump’s policies that win Christian support, not his “personal piety.” In particular, many Christians back Trump because of his Supreme Court appointees and the subsequent 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v Wade.
