Data analysts are already publishing available information about sex/gender, income, education, and racial/ethnic breakdowns of Americans who voted for Kamala Harris versus those who voted for Donald Trump in the presidential election this year.
Another data set explores the critical relationship between religious beliefs and support for presidential candidates and their policies.
By way of background, according to a Gallup poll conducted last year, 68% of Americans identify as Christians; 33% say they are Protestants, 22% are Catholic, and the remainder say they belong to another sect of Christianity or are just “Christian” generally. Seven percent of Americans—a number that has barely changed in the past 70 years—are members of “non-Christian” faiths, including 2% who are Jewish, 1% who are Muslim, and another 1% who are Buddhist.
While Christians remain a significant majority of the U.S. population, their numbers have dropped dramatically. In 1956, for example, 96% of the country called themselves “Christians,” and only 1% described themselves as having “no religion.” The latter group (sometimes called the “nones”) has seen the most significant growth in their numbers; nearly a quarter (22%) of Americans now say they belong to “no religion.”
Comparisons between the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections provide valuable insight into the role religion played in this year’s election results.
Trump has consistently done well with evangelical Protestants. In 2016, according to Pew Research, 80% of white evangelical (“born again”) Protestants voted for Trump. Immediately after the 2020 presidential election, National Public Radio........