One of the more surprising items from this election cycle has to be a recent national poll that found “more than half of Republicans see former President Donald Trump as a person of faith.” Now, I’m not saying Trump doesn’t have some semblance of faith in his belief system, but I have to admit a deep and abiding faith is not the first thought that comes to mind when I think about him, especially compared to, say, Mitt Romney, Mike Pence, and others in the GOP.
Romney has been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for a long time. Then there’s former Vice President Mike Pence. He’s so faithful to the tenets of marriage and Christianity that he refuses to ever be alone in a room with another female.
The poll was conducted in early September by market research and consulting firm HarrisX for the Deseret News. The respondents were 1,002 registered voters, and there was “a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.”
Trump scored higher than all other candidates on the Republican list, with 53% of Republicans indicating that they believe in him. Statistically, however, he was statistically tied with Pence (52%).
Trump also had a lead over several of his rivals in the Republican primaries. Respondents from the Republican Party said that 47% of them believe in God. This includes former South Carolina Governor Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Sen. Tim Scott.
Only 23% of respondents said that Biden is a person who has a strong faith in God. This was also true for only 12% of respondents about Vice President Kamala.
The poll found that Democrats are more likely to describe Biden, with 63% of registered Democratic voters, as someone who believes. It’s hard to believe that Biden spends more time on the beach in Delaware than he does at any of the four Catholic churches within a mile of the White House.
It is possible to be religious without actually being religious.
It is likely that the respondents (by extrapolation MAGA-diehards) projected their own beliefs on him due to his love for America.
A “person of Faith” is traditionally defined as a person who has a strong devotion to their religion or spiritual doctrine. It is different from someone who does not identify themselves publicly or claims no religion.
It is not surprising that 69% of Americans in the Deseret News/HarrisX study say religion is important to their lives.
This brings us to the question: What does it mean today to be “a person” of faith in America?
