Donald Trump secured the White House by winning significant support from Hispanics, Black men, young Americans, and the working class. However, one crucial group of voters has received “virtually no attention,” according to George Barna, director of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University: Christians.
“Donald Trump, for all of his perceived and ridiculed faults, did a better job than Kamala Harris of representing hallowed Christian characteristics,” Barna noted.
Barna’s post-election research revealed that Trump captured 56% of the vote from self-identified Christians. While that number might not seem overwhelmingly large, Christians made up 72% of the voters who participated in the election, according to the CRC. Their majority support played a pivotal role in Trump’s victory.
In contrast, Vice President Kamala Harris secured only 43% of the Christian vote. “Thanks to relentless Christian-bashing by the mainstream media, as well as the dramatic impact of today’s culture on the lives of Christians, Americans forget that two-thirds of adults in this nation consider themselves to be Christians,” Barna observed.
The reason Christians overwhelmingly supported Trump over Harris, Barna explained, is straightforward: his agenda aligned more closely with Christian values. “Donald Trump, for all of his perceived and ridiculed faults, did a better job than Kamala Harris of representing hallowed Christian characteristics of family, the rule of law, limited government authority, financial responsibility, and the like,” he said. “In contrast, Vice President Harris’s doubling down on abortion-on-demand, open borders, transgenderism, and central tenets of socialistic governance clashed with the core values of the nation’s dominant spiritual perspectives.”
Barna emphasized that many of Trump’s Christian supporters voted for him not as a moral role model but as a defender of their traditional values. “Millions of President Trump’s votes came from people who would not vote for him as the nation’s pastor or as a behavioral model for their children, but who perceived he would protect their traditional, cherished values and lifestyle preferences while Mrs. Harris was more likely to limit or ban such ways of life,” he said.
This support reflects a shift in priorities among Christian voters, particularly regarding a candidate’s personal character. For years, critics have labeled Trump-supporting Christians as hypocrites, pointing to Trump’s past controversies, including multiple marriages and allegations of adultery. However, Pastor Erik Reed, in an essay for Blaze Media, argued that while character still matters, it is now outweighed by the policy differences between Republicans and Democrats.
“To be clear, we still want leaders with strong character. But when both parties present candidates with moral failings, we must prioritize other factors. For many, the question has become, ‘Who will support policies that reflect the character we want to see in our society?’” Reed wrote.
Reed explained that this shift is not about excusing personal failings but recognizing the weight of policies in shaping the moral and ethical direction of society. “Policies reflect a form of collective character. They determine the moral and ethical direction of society,” he argued. “Today, policies reflect values that will shape the future, determine rights and freedoms, and frame the moral fabric of the nation.”
“So does character matter? Absolutely. But in today’s climate, the character that matters most is embedded in the policies our leaders support. That’s not hypocrisy; it’s an adaptation to a political landscape where our values face unprecedented challenges,” Reed added.
If Reed’s analysis is correct, the implications for the Democratic Party are stark. Until Democrats recognize their disconnect with most Americans and their drift away from mainstream values, Republicans will continue to dominate.
As the last election demonstrated, Republicans are not only better aligned with Christian voters but also with the broader electorate.
