REUTERS
One presidential candidate this year may have more than a prayer when it comes to support from America’s clergy, a new survey reveals.
Almost every Protestant pastor in America — 97% — says he or she will cast a ballot for president this year.
Half of those who disclosed a preference say they’ll vote for former President Donald Trump, an evangelical Christian research group said Tuesday.
Of the remainder, 24% of pastors say they’ll vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, while 23% refused to answer, Lifeway Research said. That “no answer” figure is roughly six times the 4% who declined an answer four years ago.
Clerics in Pentecostal, Baptist, Lutheran, Restorationist and nondenominational churches are among those most likely to say they’ll vote for Trump. Harris gets support from Methodist and Presbyterian/Reformed pastors.
The numbers for the preachers’ preferences mirror those of the people in the pews, a separate survey from Pew Research Center revealed. Pew’s August voter survey reported 61% of Protestants and 52% of Catholics said they’d vote for Trump, while 82% of black Protestants and 65% of Hispanic Catholics indicated a preference for Harris.
Lifeway also said that among ministers who identify with a particular party, 85% of Democrat-aligned pastors back Harris, while 78% of Republican clerics say they’ll vote for Trump.
Protestant and Catholic support for Trump was a major factor in 2016 and 2020, and the ex-prez is counting on the voting bloc to turn out this year. Speaking to the National Religious Broadcasters’ convention in February, Trump said that the “radical left … want to tear down crosses where they can and cover them up with social-justice flags. No one will be touching the cross of Christ under the Trump administration, I swear to you.”
Each campaign has a faith-based outreach program. The Trump campaign put Dr. Ben Carson, a noted Christian surgeon who was Housing and Urban Development secretary from 2017 to 2021, in charge of its faith program. The Rev. Jen Butler, a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor who headed President Barack Obama’s White House faith office, leads the Harris campaign’s.
Harris, whose support for abortion has drawn criticism from Pope Francis, has stressed her faith background and membership in a Baptist congregation in San Francisco. The pope also chided Trump for being a politician “who kicks out migrants” and said both contenders “are against life.”
Apart from the pontiff, though, many churchmen are reluctant to disclose their opinions of the race.
“The growing number of pastors unwilling to respond with their voting intentions shows how sensitive or divisive politics has become in some churches,” said Scott McConnell, Lifeway Research executive director.
Responding to the polling data, Troy Anderson, an evangelical Christian whose book “The Trump Code” was published Tuesday, said central issues in this election demand a response from clergy.
“This is a clash between two opposing worldviews,” he told The Post. One side “wants to move us into this ‘Great Reset’ plan, some kind of a new global system,” which Anderson believes would give rise to “this global dictator in the end times.”
By contrast, Anderson said, Trump “stands for America’s Judeo-Christian foundations,” something many pastors might not understand.
“He’s obviously not a perfect man by any stretch, but he wants to maintain the freedom and liberty that we’ve long enjoyed in America, “ Anderson said.