A survey of 66,000 people in 68 countries was conducted in 2017 by WIN/Gallup International to explores religious beliefs. The headline finding was that 62% of the world’s citizens considered themselves to be religious, 25% thought of themselves as non-religious and 9% as atheists. More importantly It found that levels of religiosity reduced as income and education levels increased: 66% of people with low income affirmed themselves to be religious, compared with 50% of people with high income, and 83% of people with lower education level saw themselves as religious compared with 49% with higher level.
But the US completely bucks the trend. This was demonstrated in a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center that found that 55% of American adults say that they pray daily, compared with 25% in Canada, 18% in Australia, 22% across Europe and just 6% in Great Britain. In this respect, Americans are more like people in poorer nations – such as South Africa (52%), Bangladesh (57%) and Bolivia (56%). And out of 102 countries participating in the study, the US was the only one to have higher-than-average levels of both prayer and wealth.
How does that impact political life?
Although the US Constitution prescribes separation between church and state, governmental institutions remain overwhelmingly Christian, with 88% of the current Congress identifying as Christian. So it is inevitable that religion plays a role in the country’s political life, and religious groups become a target for politicians wishing to increase their support base.
A research piece from the London School of Economics (2023) demonstrates that the role of religion in US political life is growing and has “never been more impactful than in the contemporary political era” – quoting, for example, evangelical community support for Donald Trump at 77% and 84% respectively for the elections of 2016 and 2020.
For a European audience, there is a lot here that seems odd. In much of Europe we make a virtue of not referencing religion or religious terminology in political debate while actively ensuring that public office is equally accessible to people of all races, genders, sexualities and religions. The notion that one whips up support from a specific religious base – for example, by imitating their practices and terminology – is entirely anathema, to both a religious and a secular European audience.
So will a Christian make a better US President?
There are two issues here. The first is the extent to which someone who claims to be a Christian is actually trying to live out their life in the light of God, as opposed to adopting Christian or religious terminology/practices in a rather cynical attempt to court favour with certain constituencies. We all feel dismayed when the words of our religion, which are dear to us, are being instrumentalised by political candidates who have suddenly adopted them in the lead up to an election, having had little or no engagement with communities of faith or the historical context in which they find their meaning. After all, the big drawback of imitating the terminology of a religious group, is that you don’t have the depth, and so you end up with a dichotomy between the words you say and the actions for which you are remembered.
And the second issue is the extent to which Christian or religious values are demonstrated in the way in which the President might govern, almost regardless of the label that they choose to draw to themselves. Many political leaders have exemplified values that we consider to be Christian – such as respect for one another, integrity & truthfulness, peace-making, forgiveness, care & concern, constancy, equality, social justice – from the position of a non-Christian faith or no faith at all.
What do we know about the likely candidates?
At the time of writing Joe Biden has pulled out of the race and Kamala Harris looks most likely to step in in his place. But this may change.
Joe Biden was born into a Catholic family, the second Catholic president ever in US history, after John F. Kennedy. But his liberal views on abortion make many conservative Catholics uncomfortable. The Catholic Herald (15 June), says “He has not even been neutral on this life and death issue; he has been vigorously and consistently partisan.”
Kamala Harris was born to a Tamil Indian mother and a Jamaican Baptist father, and was introduced to both forms of religion as a child. Today she is a member of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, following her father`s footsteps. But her eclectic religious background gave her a very open view of religion, which she believes has played a role in her leadership journey: “The God I believe asks us to serve others and speak up for others”.
Donald Trump grew up in New York and attended Sunday school at the First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, Queens. Running for president in 2015, he described his religious beliefs as Presbyterian, saying “I am Presbyterian Protestant. I go to Marble Collegiate Church”, but the church said that he was not an active member. As President, he appointed a personal pastor to the White House staff, and in 2020 described himself as a non-denominational Christian. On 13 July he was wounded in an attempted assassination and claimed that God had saved him.
JD Vance, Donald Trump´s running mate, was raised in a low-income family by his single mother and grandmother, who brought him up in a conservative evangelical church. In 2016, he was “not an active participant” in any particular Christian denomination, but considering converting to Catholicism, which he did in 2019. He said he converted because he “became persuaded over time that Catholicism was true … and (saint) Augustine gave me a way to understand Christian faith in a strongly intellectual way”.
So, what does scripture say?
Well scripture tells us two very relevant things. Firstly that words are not enough. Claiming the name of Jesus or imitating the terminology of believers is simply not sufficient to make one a Christian. Both St Paul (2 Cor 11:13-15) and St John (1 John 4:1) warn that false prophets will arise, claiming that they are from God, and that many people will be misled. And Jesus (Matt 7: 15-20) points to the one way you can tell false from true – ‘by their fruits shall you know them’, by the things they do, not by the words they say.
And secondly, the gospels make it very clear that making a big show of your religion is not the Christian way to go. Matthew 6: 5 – “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others…. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret”. Not an easy route for politicians!
Read the published research here: Pew Research Center, LSE.