PRRI’s research has looked into voting records in history, not just by religious practice and belief but also by race, and found that when it comes to political views, there has been a clear trend for decades.
“Almost without exception, white Christian groups have tended to vote Republican in presidential contests,” says Dr Jones. “Non-white Christian groups, non-Christian groups and religiously unaffiliated voters have tended to vote Democrat.”
This pattern dates back to the 1960s, he adds, when the Democratic party became associated with the civil rights movement and white Christian groups began migrating to the Republican Party.
Polling ahead of the 2024 election looking at voter intention suggested that for the most part this pattern held. “From our polling, we have a Republican party that is 70% white and Christian, and a Democratic party that’s only a quarter white and Christian.”
According to the PPRI’s survey, external of 5,027 adults, white evangelical Protestant voters were the strongest backers of Trump over Harris by 72% to 13%. White Catholic voters also backed Trump, with 55% supporting him and 34% aligned with Harris. White “mainline” non-evangelical Protestants showed a similar split.
By contrast 78% black Protestants supported Harris while just 9% backed Trump, according to the survey. Harris’s backers also included Jewish-Americans, the religiously unaffiliated and other non-Christian Americans, according to the PPRI.