Heading into the fall campaign for president, U.S. religious groups that traditionally have leaned Republican are backing former President Donald Trump by wide margins, while religious groups that traditionally have favored Democratic candidates are mostly supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.
The latest Pew Research Center survey, conducted Aug. 26-Sept. 2, 2024, finds that majorities of registered voters in three key religious groups say they would vote for Trump or lean toward doing so if the election were today:
-82% of white evangelical Protestants
-61% of white Catholics
-58% of white nonevangelical Protestants
Harris currently has the backing of roughly two-thirds or more registered voters in various other religious groups:
-86% of Black Protestants
-85% of atheists
-78% of agnostics
-65% of Hispanic Catholics
-65% of Jewish voters
The survey includes responses from Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and people from many other religious backgrounds. However, it does not include enough respondents from these smaller religious groups to be able to report on them separately.
Harris has improved on Biden’s performance with some religious groups
The new survey marks the first time that the Center has asked about voters’ preferences between Trump and Harris – without asking about any third-party candidates – since President Joe Biden withdrew as the Democratic nominee and independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his campaign.
Harris currently garners more support from Black Protestants and Hispanic Catholics than Biden did in April, when 77% of Black Protestants and 49% of Hispanic Catholics backed him.
Otherwise, the religious dynamics of the U.S. presidential campaign look about as they did in the spring.
Support for Trump varies by church attendance
Among white evangelicals, support for Trump is higher among those who attend church regularly – that is, at least once or twice a month – than among those who don’t. Support for Trump is also marginally higher among white Catholics who attend Mass at least monthly than among white Catholics who attend Mass less often.
By contrast, among white Protestants who are not evangelical, support for Trump is lower among regular churchgoers than among those who don’t attend church regularly.
There are no such differences in support for Harris among Black Protestants: 86% of both regular churchgoers and those who don’t often go to church support her.
How U.S. religious groups view key issues in the election
We also asked respondents how important a variety of issues will be to their vote in the presidential election.
Certain issues are important to voters regardless of religious group. For instance, at least six-in-ten registered voters in every religious group say the economy will be especially important in their voting decision. And half or more in almost every religious group say the same about health care, Supreme Court appointments and foreign policy.
White evangelical Protestant voters stand out for the high level of importance they attach to immigration. Roughly eight-in-ten white evangelicals (79%) say immigration will be very important in their voting decision – higher than any other group. A large majority of white Catholics (72%) also say immigration will be a key factor in their decision.
Abortion, in turn, is rated as a very important issue by more atheists (a group that mostly supports legal abortion) than by people with other religious identities. Roughly three-quarters of atheists (77%) say abortion will be very important in deciding for whom to vote.
Around six-in-ten agnostics (62%), Jewish voters (59%) and Black Protestants (57%) also say abortion will be very important in deciding how to vote this fall. Fewer Catholics (44%) and white Protestants (including 48% of evangelicals and 43% of nonevangelicals) say the same.
These differences across religious groups reflect broader partisan patterns. White evangelicals and white Catholics mostly identify with or lean toward the Republican Party and support Trump in the current election. And the new survey shows that more Republican voters than Democratic voters say immigration will be very important to their choice this fall.
On the other hand, most atheists, agnostics, Black Protestants and Jewish voters identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party and support Harris in the current campaign. The new survey shows that abortion is a key issue for more Democratic voters than Republican voters.
Gregory A. Smith is a senior associate director of research at Pew Research Center.
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