Donald Trump received overwhelming support from conservative Christians in November's US presidential election, according to a newly released survey. From its surveying conducted between the day of the election, 4th November, and 16th November, the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University found that some 97 per cent of Spiritually Active Governance Engaged Conservative Christians (SAGE Cons) voted for Trump.
According to the survey, some 99 per cent of SAGE Cons turned out to vote in the election, compared to a 66 per cent of the general population. Of the 23 million votes cast by SAGE Cons in the election, Trump received almost all of them. “Donald Trump would have lost by a landslide had a significant slice of the voting populace—conservative Christians who are active both spiritually and politically—not turned out and voted for him in overwhelming numbers," said George Barna, the director of the Cultural Research Cente and the founder of research company 'The Barna Group'.
Despite Trump's best efforts to contest the final result through a relentless onslaught of litigation, it is becoming increasingly clear that Democrat Joe Biden won the US election by a substantial margin.
When quizzed as to why they voted for Trump over Biden, 30 per cent of SAGE Cons pointed to his track record as president, while others referenced his positions on social issues (28 per cent), his positions on fiscal and economic issues (27 per cent), his conservative political ideology (25 per cent) and his leadership qualities (21 per cent). A majority of the demographic (60 per cent) cited Trump's position on abortion as being a critical factor in determining their vote.
Other important factors included judicial nominations and appointments (23 per cent), support for religious freedom (17 per cent), defence of law and order and the U.S. Constitution (12 per cent), and the economy (28 per cent).
“Nobody is going to confuse Donald Trump with Jesus Christ, but SAGE Cons believe that the Trump portfolio of policy positions much better reflects the biblical worldview that SAGE Cons seek to implement in all walks of life than do those of Mr Biden,” Barna explained.
“With the American population moving away from the Bible as a source of truth and moral guidance, SAGE Cons have been pleasantly surprised at how the Trump agenda has coincided with many biblical principles on social and economic matters.”
“In 2016, Donald Trump was put over the top by the 91% of votes he received from an unexpected and largely ignored voter segment. This year he was expected to carry that segment in a big way, but nobody would have predicted 99% turnout and 97% support from them—or from any large-scale voter segment. It is an astonishing display of consensus and support that, statistically speaking, is not likely to be outdone."
Most of those surveyed said they believed “numerous instances of abuse” had occurred during the voting process, with just 1 per cent believing that the election had been carried out legally.