Despite many attempts of the mainstream media to tarnish the relationship between former President Donald Trump and the Christian community, new data actually shows that his presidency has positively influenced Christian faith in America. Contrary to what many commentators say about Trump pushing Americans away from the faith, a recent survey has in fact shown otherwise.
According to a new survey from the Pew Research Center, 29% of White Americans identified as born-again or evangelical Protestants in 2020, a 4% increase from the 25% of White Americans that said so in 2016.
The new survey also found that 6% of White Americans who did not describe themselves as evangelical in 2016 have adopted the identity in 2020, versus 2% of White Americans who identified as born again/evangelical Protestants in 2016 but left the faith by 2020.
The recent survey also showed that 16% of White Americans who did not identify as evangelical Christians in 2016 but expressed support for Trump in 2016 have identified as evangelical in 2020. Only 1% of those who did not support Trump adopted the evangelical identity between 2016 and 2020.
Around 12% of White Americans who did not support Trump stopped identifying as evangelical between 2016 and 2020, a significantly larger amount compared to 7% who supported Trump and left the faith between that time period. Pew said however that the difference fell within the margin of error.
The Pew survey further revealed that 60% of self-identified White evangelical voters were behind Trump in 2016 and 2020, while 18% of them voted for the Republican leader in 2020 despite voting against him in 2016. Only 9% of White evangelical voters refused to vote for Trump in 2020, while the remaining 13% did not vote for Trump in the last two elections.
Despite only measuring whether or not Americans identify as evangelical Christians and not whether they uphold biblical beliefs, the Pew survey appears to be promising for the evangelical Christian community. Fox News asked Billy Graham Evangelistic Association president Franklin Graham whether Trump’s presidency weakened evangelical Christianity. The Samaritan’s Purse president said, “I don’t think the numbers support it, do they?”
Graham, who has been a long-time supporter of Trump, praised the Republican leader’s commitment to protect Christians, specifically his role in saving Andrew Brunson, an American pastor detained in Turkey who was later freed when Trump pressured the regime with sanctions. Graham said that “Trump welcomed people of faith,” describing the Republican president as a “president who is willing to fight for our side.”
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Al Mohler expressed approval of the survey on evangelical Christians during Trump’s presidency. He observed it showed the strength of evangelical Christianity beyond politics, saying that the faith “remains a central and vital force in America.”
Mohler also condemned leftists for creating a narrative that was disproven by the survey. He said, “Cries of evangelical decline are fed by the theological Left and by liberal academics and media sources who are singing the same song they have sung since the 1970s. They hope that by saying evangelicals are in decline that they can make it so.”
