Recent polling indicates that most Americans see neither former President Donald Trump nor Vice President Kamala Harris as especially Christian or religious, despite both of them having claimed to identify as such.
Only 14% of Americans polled agreed that “Christian” describes Harris or Trump “extremely” or “very” well, according to a survey conducted Sept. 12-16 of 2,028 U.S. adults by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs.
Approximately seven in 10 white Evangelical Protestants have a favorable view of Trump, though only half say he represents their beliefs. Approximately five in 10 white Catholics and white mainline Protestants support Trump, according to the poll.
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Hispanic Protestants and Catholics were narrowly divided between the two candidates, though black Protestants overwhelmingly support Harris, with about three-quarters saying they have a favorable view of her compared to Trump.
Only one-third of those questioned said the words “honest” or “moral” describe either candidate extremely or very well, with one-third saying such words are appropriate for Harris and about 15% saying they apply to Trump.
Trump, who was raised mainline Presbyterian and has publicly claimed to be a Christian, has presented himself as the candidate most friendly to Christians while accusing the Biden administration of weaponizing the justice system against people of faith.
Since his two recent assassination attempts, Trump has spoken more openly about God, claiming he thinks about Him more often and attributes his narrow escapes from death to divine providence.
“The only good thing is that it’s always a consequential president that gets shot at, and fortunately so far, I’ve been very lucky,” Trump said during a recent appearance on the Fox News show “Gutfeld!”
“Or something is greater than all of us,” he added. “Something is up there; someone is up there, maybe watching over us.”
At Turning Point Action’s Believers Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, in July, Trump urged Christians to vote for him and assured them they would never have to vote again if they re-elect him.
“I don’t care how, but you have to get out and vote,” he said. “Christians, get out and vote just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years. You know what? It’ll be fixed.”
Harris attends a Baptist church but has noted that she has been influenced by the Eastern beliefs of her Indian mother and that she has celebrated Kwanzaa.
Ryan Girdusky, a political consultant and Roman Catholic who worked for the Protect Ohio Values PAC that helped elect Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, maintained to The Christian Post during a recent “Politics in the Pews” podcast that he questions whether Trump or Harris have any deep connection to faith.
“I don’t even know if Kamala is Christian, I actually don’t know that answer,” he said. “She is obviously in an interfaith marriage with a Jew, which is fine, but she is also somebody who said she has celebrated Kwanzaa, although that is clearly a lie, because the years when she said she had celebrated, it wasn’t invented yet — it’s a completely made up Afro-nationalist holiday.”
Girdusky pointed out that Harris “has never hinted really around faith very much whatsoever,” and that such was likely unnecessary in her liberal San Francisco political world.
“But I don’t believe Kamala Harris has a deep faith, nor has she ever hat tipped to people of faith. I don’t believe Trump has a very deep connection to faith, either. However, he knew where the voters were, so he had no problem making peace with their issues. I don’t think Kamala is going to do that,” he added.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
