Former President Donald Trump fares better among American Christians than the president Joe Biden in a new Pew Research Center survey on religion and politics.
- Pew found that 46% of Christians have a favorable view of Trump, while only 33% have a favorable view of Biden.
- Trump also performed better when respondents were asked whether the men defended people with religious beliefs similar to theirs. Forty-seven percent of Christians responded that Trump does, while 40% said the same about Biden, Pew reported.
While Biden is more likely than Trump to be considered “very” or “somewhat” religious by American Christians, fewer than two-thirds of members of the faith group said it was important for a president to have strong religious beliefs.
“American adults are much more likely to say they want a president who personally leads a moral and ethical life than to say the president should possess certain religious traits,” Pew reported.
How religious groups rate Biden and Trump
Trump’s ratings are bolstered by his strong showing among white evangelical Protestants. Two-thirds of members of this faith group have a favorable opinion of the former president, according to Pew.
A similar share of white evangelicals – 69% – say Trump defends people who have religious beliefs similar to theirs.
- Just 24% of white evangelicals say the same thing about Biden, Pew found.
Trump also benefits from the fact that the Christian group that shows him the least support – black Protestants – is smaller than the groups who prefer him to the current president.
At least eight in ten black Protestants view Trump unfavorably. Only 32% of members of this religious group feel this way about Biden, according to Pew.
Trump and religion
A previous survey conducted by HarrisX for the Desert News also surveyed Americans’ religious views about Trump.
It found that Republicans are more likely to view Trump as a person of faith than other more overtly religious candidates, including Biden.
One of the main reasons these Republicans view Trump this way is his defense of religious people and policies, the survey found. In other words, they are focusing on his political actions and not his religious activities, as the Deseret News previously reported.
The Pew survey found that more Americans (64%) and more Christians (76%) think it is important for the president to stand up for people who hold their religious beliefs than believe it is important that the president has strong religious beliefs — 48% and 63%. %, respectively.
Meanwhile, more than 9 in 10 American adults (94%) and Christians (96%) say it is important that the president personally leads a moral and ethical life, Pew found. Desert News Previously reported.
