Two new polls show that religion played a significant role in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, shaping voter turnout and candidate preferences in ways that largely benefited Donald Trump.
A nationwide survey of 5,772 adults by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that one in four Americans believe God ordained Trump to be the winner of the 2024 election.
White evangelical Protestants remained his strongest religious base, with 85 percent reporting that they voted for him. The poll also found a clear link between church attendance and Trump support among both white evangelicals and white Catholics.
Among white evangelical Protestants, 88 percent of weekly churchgoers voted for Trump, compared with 77 percent of those who seldom or never attend church. The same trend appeared among white Catholics, where 64 percent of weekly attenders backed Trump, compared with 58 percent of monthly attenders and 56 percent of those who seldom or never attend.
However, the pattern was reversed among white non-evangelical Protestants. In this group, 52 percent of weekly attenders reported voting for Trump, a lower proportion than those who attend less frequently.
The survey also showed overwhelming support for Trump among Christian nationalism adherents and sympathisers, 83 percent of whom said they voted for him. Similarly, 81 percent of people who said they believe in the QAnon conspiracy also reported voting for Trump. By contrast, two-thirds of Christian nationalism rejecters and skeptics, 64 percent, reported voting for Kamala Harris.
Support also varied across racial and religious groups. A strong majority of Black Protestant voters, 83 percent, backed Harris. Hispanic Catholic voters were also more likely to support Harris over Trump, by 55 percent to 43 percent, while Hispanic Protestants showed stronger support for Trump, 64 percent to 36 percent. In addition, 62 percent of Jewish voters backed Harris.
A second poll conducted by the Pew Research Center reported similar findings, highlighting the continued influence of religious identity in American politics.