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Religion and politics in the United States

The U.S. guarantees freedom of religion and some churches in the U.S. take strong stances on political subjects.

Religion in the United States is remarkable in its high adherence level compared to other developed countries.[1] The First Amendment to the country's Constitution prevents the government from having any authority in religion, and guarantees the free exercise of religion. Many faiths have flourished in the United States, including imports spanning the country's multicultural heritage as well as those founded within the country, and have led the United States to become the most religiously diverse country in the world.[2]

The majority of Americans identify themselves as Christians (65% as of 2019), while non-Christian religions (including Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and others) collectively make up about 6% of the adult population. Another 26% of the adult population identified as having no religious affiliation.[3] A majority of Americans report that religion plays a "very important" role in their lives, a proportion unusual among developed nations, though similar to other nations in the Americas.[4] According to the American Religious Identification Survey, religious belief varies considerably across the country: 59% of Americans living in Western states report a belief in God, yet in the South (the "Bible Belt") the figure is as high as 86%.[5][6]

The United States has more Christians than any other country in the world (US is the largest Christian nation in respect to population).[7] Going forward from its foundation, the United States has been called a Protestant nation by a variety of sources.[8][9][10][11] This is despite the fact that Protestants are no longer the majority in the United States (43%).[12]

Politicians frequently discuss their religion when campaigning, and many churches and religious figures are highly politically active. As important as religion is in politics, Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, had to fight his way into office due to his controversial thoughts about religion. His writing was often seen as anti-Christian. It is argued that Jefferson's win can be linked to him changing the election's narrative from one about his own religious beliefs, to one about his tolerance of religious freedom (Lambert).[13]

There are Christians in both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, but evangelical Christians and conservative Catholics tend to support the Republican Party whereas more liberal Protestants, Catholics and secular voters[14] tend to support the Democratic Party. A 2019 survey conducted by Pew Research Center found that 54% of adults believe the Republican Party to be "friendly" toward religion, while only 19% of respondents said the same of the Democratic Party.[15]

Every President and Vice President,[citation needed] was raised in a family with affiliations with Christian religions.[16][17] Only former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Joe Biden were raised in Roman Catholic families. Two former presidents, Richard Nixon and Herbert Hoover, were raised as Quakers. All the rest were raised in families affiliated with Protestant Christianity. However, many presidents have themselves had only a nominal affiliation with churches, and some never joined any church.

While fundamentalist religious people are less likely to have information collected about who they will vote for, they "tend to engage mainstream political activity at higher rates than the average American".[18] While there is a common belief that religious voters will always vote Republican that is not necessarily the case. Whether the vote is made for one party or another is noticeably based on socioeconomic status.[19] For low income religious people, there is almost no correlation between their religious beliefs and their voting decision.[20]George W. Bush, a Methodist, earned a slim victory over John Kerry, with voters who cited "moral values" (a commonly used term among religiously-inclined voters) playing a crucial part in the election.[21] Bush's clear victory has been directly attributed to fundamentalist Christian groups.[22]

In 2006 Keith Ellison became the first Muslim elected to the federal government, as the representative of Minnesota's 5th congressional district. When re-enacting his swearing-in for photos, he used the copy of the Qur'an once owned by Thomas Jefferson.

In 2006, PRRI found that the majority of Democrats identified as Protestants.[23] A Gallup Poll released in 2019 indicated that 60% of Americans would be willing to vote for an atheist as president.[24] Research shows that candidates that are perceived to be religious are considered more trustworthy.[25] A 2020 PRRI American Values Survey found that of Democratic voters, 42% were Protestant while 23% identified as Catholic. The same survey found that of Republican voters, 54% were Protestant while only 18% were Catholic.[26] A November 2024 Politico Poll found that Evangelicals outnumbered Catholics among Harris and Trump voters.[27] The 2023-2024 Pew Religious Landscape Study found that 51% of Democrats were Christian and mostly Protestant.[28]

  1. ^ Porter, Eduardo (April 5, 2016). "Donald Trump's Rise Shows Religion Is Losing Its Political Power". New York Times.
  2. ^ Eck, Diana (2002). A New Religious America : the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation. HarperOne. p. 432. ISBN 978-0-06-062159-9.
  3. ^ "America's Changing Religious Landscape". Pew Research Center. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  4. ^ "U.S. Stands Alone in its Embrace of Religion". Pew Global Attitudes Project. 19 December 2002. Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2007.
  5. ^ Kosmin, Barry A.; Keysar, Ariela (2009). "AMERICAN RELIGIOUS IDENTIFICATION SURVEY (ARIS) 2008" (PDF). Hartford, Connecticut, USA: Trinity College. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-04-07. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  6. ^ Frank Newport Belief in God Far Lower in Western U.S.; Overall, 78% believe in God, 15% in a higher spirit July 28, 2008 News.gallup.com
  7. ^ "Christian Statistics: Top 10 Largest National Christian Populations". Adherents.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 1999. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
  8. ^ Tri-Faith America: How Catholics and Jews Held Postwar America to Its Protestant Promise by Kevin M. Schultz, p. 9
  9. ^ Obligations of Citizenship and Demands of Faith: Religious Accommodation in Pluralist Democracies by Nancy L. Rosenblum, Princeton University Press, 2000 - 438, p. 156
  10. ^ The Protestant Voice in American Pluralism by Martin E. Marty, chapter 1
  11. ^ Lipka, Michael (27 August 2015). "10 facts about religion in America". Pew Research Center.
  12. ^ "Protestants no longer the majority in U.S." CBS News. 9 October 2012.
  13. ^ Lambert, F. (1997). `God-and a religious president... [or] Jefferson and no God': for a voter-imposed. Journal of Church & State, 39(4), 769. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
  14. ^ "Religion and the 2006 Elections". Pew Research Center. 1 Dec 2006.
  15. ^ "Americans Have Positive Views About Religion's Role in Society, but Want It Out of Politics". Pew Research Center. November 15, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  16. ^ "Barack Obama's Religious Beliefs & Background". Archived from the original on 2009-02-19. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  17. ^ Obama, Barack, The Audacity of Hope, I was not raised in a religious household. For my mother, organized religion too often dressed up closed-mindedness in the garb of piety, cruelty, and oppression in the cloak of righteousness. However, in her mind, a working knowledge of the world's great religions was a necessary part of any well-rounded education. In our household, the Bible, the Koran, and the Bhagavad Gita sat on the shelf alongside books of Greek and Norse and African mythology.
  18. ^ Sherkat, D. E. (2007). Religion and Survey Non-Response Bias: Toward Explaining the Moral Voter Gap between Surveys and Voting. Sociology Of Religion, 68(1), p.93 Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
  19. ^ (Hirschl, T. A., Booth, J. G., & Glenna, L. L. (2009). The Link Between Voter Choice and Religious Identity in Contemporary Society: Bringing Classical Theory Back In. Social Science Quarterly, 90(4), 931. Retrieved from EbscoHost
  20. ^ Hirschl, T. A., Booth, J. G., & Glenna, L. L. (2009). The Link Between Voter Choice and Religious Identity in Contemporary Society: Bringing Classical Theory Back In. Social Science Quarterly, 90(4), 941. Retrieved from EbscoHost
  21. ^ "Exit poll". NBC News. Archived from the original on 20 Mar 2013.
  22. ^ Sherkat, D. E. (2007). Religion and Survey Non-Response Bias: Toward Explaining the Moral Voter Gap between Surveys and Voting. Sociology Of Religion, 68(1), 83-95.p. 94 Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
  23. ^ "Widening Religious Gap Between Republicans and Democrats, 2006 vs. 2016". Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  24. ^ "Less Than Half in U.S. Would Vote for a Socialist for President". 9 May 2019.
  25. ^ Clifford, Scott; Gaskins, Ben (November 2016). "Trust Me, I Believe in God: Candidate Religiousness as a Signal of Trustworthiness". American Politics Research. 44 (6): 1066–1097. doi:10.1177/1532673X15608939. S2CID 146171691.
  26. ^ "Shift in Religious Affiliation 2006 to 2020, by Party Affiliation".
  27. ^ "National Tracking Poll #2410175 October 30 - November 01, 2024". Politico. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  28. ^ "Democrats and Democratic leaners". Pew Research Center. 2004-07-01. Retrieved 2025-02-26.

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