Most Americans do not view Biden, Trump as 'very religious': poll

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, March 20, 2024

U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate moderated by Fox News anchor Chris Wallace (C) at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 29, 2020, in Cleveland, Ohio. This is the first of three planned debates between the two candidates in the lead up to the election on November 3, 2020. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

A new survey reveals that few Americans view the leading presidential candidates as “very religious” as perspectives on the presidential candidates’ religiosity vary based on respondents’ religious affiliation.

The Pew Research Center released a survey Friday asking Americans to weigh in on their views of the religiosity of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the expected major candidates for president in the 2024 presidential election. The research is based on responses collected from 12,693 U.S. adults between Feb. 13-25. The survey had a margin of error of +/-1.5 percentage points.

Just 4% of respondents described Trump as “very religious,” while 25% characterized him as “somewhat religious” and 68% thought that he was “not at all religious.” When it comes to Biden, only 13% of those surveyed believed he was “very religious,” while 41% classified him as “somewhat religious” and a plurality (44%) maintained that he was “not at all religious.”

Majorities of all religious subgroups except white Evangelical Protestants believed that Trump was “not at all religious.” Even among the group considered most supportive of the former president, a plurality (49%) described him as “not at all religious.”

While a majority of black Protestants (51%) and atheists (55%) thought that Biden was “somewhat religious” as did pluralities of Jews (49%), agnostics (49%), Hispanic Catholics (47%), the religiously unaffiliated (46%) and those who identify as nothing in particular, pluralities or majorities of all other religious subgroups believed the president was “not at all religious.” An equal share of Catholics (41%) categorized Biden as “somewhat religious” and “not at all religious.”

In previous Pew surveys from March 2021 and February 2020, a majority of Americans queried consistently concluded that Trump was “not at all religious.” The February 2024 poll is the only one of the three where more Americans viewed Biden as “not at all religious” than “somewhat religious.”

When asked if Biden “stands up for people with religious beliefs similar to theirs,” a plurality of respondents (39%) replied “a little/not at all,” followed by 20% apiece who thought he stood up for their religious beliefs “some” and “a great deal/quite a bit.” The remaining 20% said they were “not sure” about Biden’s advocacy on their right to abide by their religious beliefs.

A plurality of Jews (47%) and black Protestants (35%) thought Biden effectively stood up for “people with religious beliefs similar to theirs.” On the other hand, a majority of white Evangelical Protestants (64%) contended that the president stands up for people with their beliefs “a little or not at all” along with one-half of Muslims. A plurality of all other religious subgroups believed that Biden advocates for people with their beliefs “a little/not at all.”

The survey asked the same question about whether Trump “stands up for people with religious beliefs similar to theirs.” A plurality (44%) of respondents replied that he stood up for people with their beliefs “a little/not at all,” followed by 23% who said the former president cares about defending their religious beliefs “a great deal/quite a bit” and 15% who insisted that Biden comes to the defense of their beliefs in “some cases.”

With 49% of white Evangelical Protestants agreeing that Trump “stands up for people with religious beliefs similar to theirs,” this subgroup marked the only denomination to feel that way. While the share of Hispanic Protestants who viewed Trump as standing up for their religious views “a little/not at all” and “a great deal/quite a bit” was measured at 35% apiece, pluralities or majorities of all other denominations thought Trump did not effectively stand up for their beliefs.

Another question in the survey found near-unanimous support (94%) for the idea that it was either very or somewhat important to have a president who “personally lives a moral and ethical life.” Near-unanimous support for this belief extended across all religious denominations.

Smaller shares of respondents agreed it was very or somewhat important to have a president who “stands up for people with your religious beliefs” (64%) and “has strong religious beliefs, even if different from yours” (48%). Just 37% of those surveyed thought it was very or somewhat important for a president to have “religious beliefs that are the same as yours.”

Majorities of all religious subgroups except for those who identify as nothing in particular (45%), the religiously unaffiliated (38%), atheists (31%) and agnostics (25%) preferred a president who stands up for people with their religious beliefs.

Similarly, majorities of all religious subgroups except Jews (30%), those who classify themselves as nothing in particular (25%), the religiously unaffiliated (17%), agnostics (9%) and atheists (4%) contended that it was important for a president to have “strong religious beliefs,” regardless of what those views are. The only religious subgroups where a majority believed it was important for a president to share their beliefs were white Evangelical Protestants (70%), Hispanic Protestants (68%), Protestants (56%) and Christians (50%).

Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com