Are There Denominational Differences
Nearly three-fourths of Trump voters identify as either Protestant or Catholic. Might participation in either of these two faith traditions have different effects? Statistical tests suggest not. A series of tests comparing the impact of religious attendance among white Protestant Trump voters and white Catholic Trump voters reveals that participation in either faith, in most instances, is a significant predictor of improved attitudes toward racial and religious minorities. Furthermore, these tests indicate that the small differences that do exist are not statistically significant. Trump voters who attend either Protestant or Catholic religious services weekly are more likely than their secular counterparts to have warm feelings toward these population groups .
Among white Trump voters, Catholic church attendance significantly predicted more favorable attitudes toward black people and Jews, as well as immigrants at the p .05 level and towardHispanics and Asians at the p .10 level. It did not significantly predict more favorable attitudes toward Muslims. Protestant church attendance among white Trump voters significantly predictedmore favorable attitudes toward black people, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, Muslims, and immigrants. These differences may in part be the consequence of there being fewer white Catholic Trump voters than white Protestant Trump voters surveyed with a lower number, there is less certainty around the white Catholic Trump voters estimates.
So Personal Morality Wasnt A Problem Even For Religious Voters What Has Been Or Would Be Problematic In Terms Of Religious Faith For American Voters
We seem clearly to have reached a point where moral character no longer matters the way it once did. We seem to owe that change to the careers of some recent presidents and to the growth of secularism in the United States. Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, John F. Kennedy, and other presidents contributed to this change. Today a person of known integrity who announced him or herself as an agnostic could be elected president.
Weve had agnostics, Im sure, who havent announced their lack of faith. In 2017 its probably helpful to be a church member in a presidential election, but its no longer essential.
Trump was given a pass on many things that evangelicals despise and preach against in churchsuch as divorce, worldliness, lack of church attendance, and profanity. Wait, does he use profanity? Im trying to think. He may not have used profanity.
Helicopters And Subsequent Investigation
Pentagon officials directed National Guard helicopters to use a “persistent presence” to disperse protesters. Helicopters, including a twin-engine UH-60 Black Hawk and UH-72 Lakota, were observed in a very low-flying show of force over protesters who gathered later in the evening. Experts said that the maneuvers, including rotor wash that sends debris flying, presented risks to the pilots, the crew, and persons on the ground. The Washington Post reported that “one helicopter buzzed protesters from a height nearly level with three- and four-story buildings in the Chinatown area, ripping tree limbs away rotor wash hurled glass from broken windows like shrapnel.” FAA flight data showed that one helicopter hovered below 100 feet near a crowd by Capital One Arena. The use of a helicopter with Red Cross markings for a law enforcement action was also criticized. Misuse of the Red Cross symbol is prohibited by the First Geneva Convention.
In June 2020, the commander of the District of Columbia National Guard, Major General William J. Walker, announced an investigation into the use of the medevac helicopter. The crew of the UH-72 was grounded during the investigation.
Don’t Miss: How To Send A Message To President Donald Trump
There Were A Large And Varied Number Of Religious Speakers At Donald Trumps Inauguration What Do You Think That Says About Trump
I find them a interesting and unexpectedly large group. Trump chose three evangelical megachurch pastors (an African American, a Puerto Rican Americanboth menand a white woman from Mississippi. He also chose the son of Billy Graham and a West Coast rabbi. Trump is identified with New York, so its important that he also chose one New Yorker, the Catholic archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
The choice of speakers isnt all that important for presidential policy. At inaugurations, clergy read passages of scripture or deliver a prayer. After an inauguration, theres no guarantee that they maintain much of a relationship with the president.
Incidentally, the six speakers are not among Americans who have been left behind economically. Almost all are millionaires. What strikes me is that some potential speakers are missing. Theres no mainline African American, and there are no mainline white Protestants. Its not a choice I would be critical of, its just purposely a different choice than many presidents would have made.
Donald Trump Goes To Church Every Sunday
by John D. Pierce | Dec 1, 2020 | Christian Nationalism, Opinion
President Donald Trump may be golfing most Sundays, but his presence in Americas churches will be felt for a long, long time. While his glowing face may not appear among the worshippers, he is most assuredly there.
As he aims a nine-iron toward a manicured green, under the watchful eyes of the Secret Service, his churchgoing followers, whove marched in lockstep from Parler to the pews, are listening out for anything their pastors might say that doesnt jibe with the baptized bigotry of white Christian nationalism.
The irony, of course, is that one so uninterested in and uncomfortable with the basic beliefs, values and trappings of the Christian faith can appeal so overwhelmingly to those long engaged in congregational life. They are willing, even eager, to shape their faith accordingly and demand it of others.
In many churches, the sermon accommodates those desires. It is a mere regurgitation of Tucker Carlsons latest diatribe dipped in religious language and certitude, yet more fitting for a super-spreader political rally than a time and place designated for the worship of God.
Power-thirsty celebrity preachers provide religious cover for this blatant advancement of a false gospel of fear, discrimination and exclusion all in stark contrast to the life and teachings of Jesus who supposedly is the reason for gathering. And, also, we might note: the reason for calling oneself Christian.
You May Like: Does Trump Wear A Wig
Importance Placed On Accepting Diversity
Consistent with these findings, churchgoing Trump voters are more likely to agree that acceptance of racial and religious diversity is at the core of American identity. Eighty-three percent of Trump voters who attend a religious service more than once a week say it is very or fairly important to accept people of diverse racial and religious backgrounds to be truly American, compared to only two-thirds of nonreligious Trump voters a 16-percentage-point difference.
Figure 7
How Do Religious Trump Voters Compare To Clinton Voters
To be sure, conservatives who attend church regularly dont take the same positions as liberals on most of these issues. For instance, churchgoing Trump voters are less likely to have warm feelings toward Muslims compared to Hillary Clintons 2016 voters. Churchgoing Trump voters are also more likely than Clinton voters to say immigration should be harder , to oppose offering a pathway to citizenship , to say illegal immigrants are a drain on society , and to be frustrated with language barriers .
Although churchgoing Trump voters are relatively more opposed to the death penalty than their secular counterparts, still more than two-thirds support it compared to about one-third of Clinton voters. And, even though an overwhelming majority of Trump-voting churchgoers say poverty is an important issue, that figure still falls short of the 97 percent of Clinton voters who feel similarly.
There are a few exceptions, however, where churchgoing Trump voters coalesce with Clinton voters. In particular, both groups have similarly warm feelings toward racial minorities and Jews, and they have similar attitudes about trade.
Even still, Trump voters, regardless of religious participation, take more conservative positions than Clinton voters on most issues. Thus, attending church regularly does not turn conservatives into liberals. However, religious attendance may pull conservatives in a liberal direction on key cultural issues polarizing the nation.
Also Check: What’s Wrong With Trump
What Do We Know About Trumps Religious Upbringing
Like most of us, Trump was influenced by the faith of his parents. Threequarters of the presidents weve had since World War II ended up in the very same interpretation of Christianity in which they were raised. That seems to be a pretty good national statistic. Trump is no exception.
Trumps heritage is Protestant and European. His father came from Lutheran stock in Germany. We dont know how religious his fathers family was, but the father attended church faithfully throughout his life. Trumps mother came from a highly religious area of Scotland, where a branch of Presbyterianism, called the Wee Frees , is still strong today.
Trump identifies himself as a mainline Protestant. But if we want to understand him, we would be better off to pay attention to his social, economic, and cultural upbringing, and not to his experience in church. Trumps father, Fred, was a developer, a field which he quit school to enter. The Trumps lived in Jamaica, Queens, in an area where Fred built many of the houses, often in the Tudor revival style. The home he built for his family was huge: 23 rooms. They had livein help, a chauffeur and a maid. They had two Cadillac limousines.
Trump With 200 Congregants Attends Church Service In Las Vegas
President Donald Trump spoke briefly during a Sunday morning service at the International Church of Las Vegas, after spending Saturday night at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
At least 200 people prayed and cheered for President Donald Trump during a Sunday morning service at a church in western Las Vegas.
The president attended the 9 a.m. service at the International Church of Las Vegas, near Summerlin. Later in the day, Trump headed to Southern California for a fundraiser and then to Carson City for Make America Great Again rally at the Carson City Airport.
During Sunday mornings service, Pastor Marc Paul Goulet praised Trump and told him, Youre doing a great job.
The service did not fill the church to capacity. Many cheered as they prayed and blessed the president. It was unclear whether the attendance exceeded the 250 people in the venue, the maximum capacity Gov. Steve Sisolak set for churches.
During the service, the president placed a handful of $20 bills into the collection bucket. Most people in the crowd werent wearing masks Trump also was not wearing a mask, and neither were associates sitting next to him nor Goulet and his wife, Senior Associate Pastor Denise Goulet. However, Secret Service members and others in the presidents entourage were wearing masks.
Third visit
Trumps visit wasnt his first to the church, which bills itself on its website as a multicultural, healing, prophetic church all about giving the grace of Jesus to Las Vegas.
Read Also: Does Donald Trump Attend Church
You Said Earlier That Presidents Often Say They Pray When Faced With Major Decisions That Affect Billions Of People Will Trumps Faith Come Into Play If He Has To Make Those Kinds Of Decisions
That we cant predict. Most presidents would tell us that they actually prayed in the Oval Office. Presidents are required to make decisions daily that affect millions of lives. They are often uncertain about what is the right thing to do. In those cases, they draw on their religious background.
The question is whether Trump will be in that tradition. We just cant predict with Trump. He could become awed by the power and influence he has and turn in part to his religion, but so far he has not exhibited that sense of awe. I could not predict that he will turn to his mainline Protestant upbringing any more than he has turned to evangelicalism. But I dont think hell ignore his background.
Inside Liv Golf Welcome Party As Trump Jenner And Nelly Meet Rebels And Wags
The move was a controversial one because the divided city is also claimed by Palestine as its capital, and its status was seen as key to the Middle East peace process.
The state of Israel and the pro-Israel lobby in the US were virtually the only ones to celebrate the decision, which was slammed by US allies around the world.
The presidents daughter Ivanka also converted to Judaism after marrying Jared Kushner, who was made one of his top advisers.
And Trump has spoken fondly about having three Jewish grandchildren.
You May Like: Who Benefited From The Trump Tax Cuts
Is It Really Church Attendance
The positive relationship between religious service attendance and tolerance examined in this report is simply a correlation. We dont know for sure if attending religious services causes people to become more tolerant and accepting of others with different backgrounds.But we can test whether some other demographic variable like education, income, gender, or age might be confounding these results. For instance, perhaps more-educated conservatives are more likely to participate in civic institutions andalso are more likely to take more moderate positions on some culture war issues. If this were true, we might draw the conclusion that education drives these results more so than religious participation.
To examine this potential, we ran a statistical test using church attendance as a predictor of attitudes toward racial and religious minorities while also taking into account education, income, race, gender, and age. Even when accounting for these demographic factors, increased church attendance remains a significant predictor of more favorable attitudes toward black people, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, and Muslims . The statistical models predict increasingly favorable attitudes toward these populations as Trump voters attend religious services more often, while holding other demographic factors constant .
Figure 21
Most Americans Dont See Trump As Religious Fewer Than Half Say They Think Hes Christian
President Donald Trump has often used religious language while in office, and he has surrounded himself with evangelical leaders and supported conservative Christian causes. But Trumps personal religious beliefs and practices have not been as public.
Indeed, half of U.S. adults either say theyre not sure what Trumps religion is or that he has no religion , while just 33% say hes Protestant.
And Americans overall dont think Trump is particularly religious: A majority say Trump is not too or not at all religious, while 28% say hes somewhat religious and only 7% say hes very religious, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
The findings in this post are drawn from a new survey exploring the intersection of religion and politics in the U.S. The survey of 6,395 U.S. adults was conducted Feb. 4 to 15. All respondents to the survey are part of Pew Research Centers American Trends Panel , an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATPs methodology.
Here are the questions used for the report, along with responses, and its methodology.
What is Trumps religion?
Also Check: Did Trump Forgive Student Debt
Id Say Yes Toward Women
Yes, theres certainly been salacious conversation.
Ronald Reagan never swore. And Trump doesnt drink or smoke. He has a certain amount of discipline in those areas. He has discipline in his life, Id say. But certainly not over his emotions.
Right now, voters are looking for a singular figure who can make America great again, the definition of which includes going back some decades in our understanding of our place in the world.
Australian Response To Attack On Australian Journalists
While dispersing demonstrators, two U.S. Park Police officers attacked a news crew from Seven Network, a major Australian media outlet. Cameraman Timothy Myers was hit with a riot shield and punched by police, while a different officer attempted to attack reporter Amelia Brace with a baton as she fled. Both Myers and Brace were also shot with rubber bullets and attacked with tear gas. The police actions were criticized by both Australian Prime MinisterScott Morrison and Opposition LeaderAnthony Albanese. Morrison said the event was “troubling” and directed the Australian Embassy to investigate and to express “strong concerns” to U.S. authorities. The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, which represents Australian journalists, submitted a letter to the U.S. Ambassador to Australia protesting the attack. A Network Seven spokesman said the attack against Myers and Brace was “nothing short of wanton thuggery”. U.S. Park Police officials said the officers had been assigned to administrative duties pending investigation of the attack.
Also Check: How Can I Talk To President Trump
Who Are The Churchgoing Trump Voters
Interestingly, churchgoing Trump voters dont look much different from their secular co-partisans on a range of demographic variables. They make about the same amount of money . They are about equally likely to work full time , although regular churchgoers are more likely to be retired. A similar proportion say they pay attention to the news and public affairs . And they are both highly likely to be white .
Table 1
However, there are a few differences. Weekly churchgoing Trump voters are more likely than secular Trump voters to be married , be female , and have graduated from college . Weekly churchgoing Trump voters are also more likely to identify as conservative and Republican than their secular counterparts. Instead, secularTrump voters are more likely to identify as politically independent and moderate than weekly churchgoing Trump voters.
Taking these results together leaves us with a surprising finding: conservative, Republican, churchgoing Trump voters take more moderate positions on many culture war issues than their self-identified moderate, independent, non-churchgoing counterparts.
