Donald Trump has spoken of a “tremendous renewal” of Christianity in the United States, alleging that his presidency has helped to “bring back religion”.
“I’m very proud to say that during my time in office, both the first four years and in particular this last year, there has been a tremendous renewal in religion, faith, Christianity and belief in God,” the President declared in his State of the Union address.
“This is especially true among young people,” he added. “A big part of that had to do with my great friend Charlie Kirk. Great guy. Great guy.”
Trump then pointed to Kirk’s widow, Erika, who was his guest at the State of the Union.
“In Charlie’s memory, we must all come together to reaffirm that America is one nation under God,” he continued. “And we must totally reject political violence of any kind. We love religion, and we love bringing it back.”
In December, the Pew Research Centre described religion in the United States as "holding steady", rather than rocketing upwards.
However, in December, the Wall Street Journal reported that sales of the Bible did rise in the weeks following Charlie Kirk's assassination. HarperCollins Christian Publishing also observed a rising interest in Bibles amongst 18-34 year olds during the same time period.