In Presidential Election, Many Christian Voters Split Along Racial Lines
CARSON, Calif. — President-elect Donald Trump doesn’t have many fans, if any, at the Metropolitan Church of Christ in this urban community south of Los Angeles.
No one interviewed at the predominantly Black congregation on a recent Lord’s Day voted for the Republican candidate.
That’s not too surprising: The late Martin Luther King Jr., the renowned civil rights leader, famously called 11 a.m. Sunday “the most segregated hour of America.”
The racial divide typically extends to the voting booth — and did so once again in the 2024 election, according to network exit polls.
White Christian voters helped propel Trump to victory, with 72 percent supporting him, polling found. Meanwhile, 85 percent of Black Christian voters backed Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.
“I really felt like, in a lot of ways, they were trying to take away the opportunity for us to have a say … and our basic rights,” said Metropolitan member Tiffany Dean, 50, a mother of two adult sons, one serving in the U.S. Army.
Explaining her vote for Harris, Dean expressed concern for democracy, civil rights and immigrants who came to America seeking a better life.
“It’s scary that you would send someone to a country that they’ve never known, and they don’t speak the language,” Dean said, referring to Trump’s promised mass deportations.
Trump prevailed in the Electoral College (312 to Harris’ 226) as well as the popular vote (49.8 percent to Harris’ 48.3 percent).
Harris’ failure to win election as the nation’s first woman president disappointed — but did not surprise — Dean, a licensed marriage and family therapist.
“I knew that our country wasn’t ready to have a Black woman president,” she said of the former U.S. senator from California.
Kelvin Warren, center, wearing a "Black Fathers Matter" shirt, prays with fellow Christians at the Metropolitan Church of Christ in Carson, Calif. (Photo by Bobby Ross Jr.)
‘Character … matters a lot’
A fellow Christian, Kelvin Warren, 44, said he “reluctantly” cast his ballot for Harris.
“I don’t think there’s a middle ground for people who may have some Republican values,” said Warren, who has two daughters and wore a shirt declaring that “Black Fathers Matter.”
While Warren supports the traditional definition of marriage and opposes abortion, the Metropolitan member pointed to Trump’s criminal convictions for sexual abuse and paying hush money to a porn star.
“Character, for me, matters a lot,” said Warren, a supervisor for a logistics company. “So that was a big factor. That was probably the No. 1 thing.”
Despite not voting for Trump, Warren said he’ll pray for his success.
“To me, it doesn’t make sense that you would want the person in charge of your country to do badly even if you don’t like them,” he said. “To me, the way a lot of people think when it comes to politics, it’s crazy.”
Another Metropolitan member, LaTanya West, 59, said she liked Trump’s plan to improve border control but didn’t think he was the right person for the White House.
“To me, he wasn’t fit for the job,” said West, a retired transit bus driver. “You know, all he did prior to this election — storming the Capitol and all that — if Kamala or (former President Barack Obama) did that, there’s no way they would even have been able to go up for president.”
‘God raised him up’
In a separate Christian Chronicle survey, Trump voters — including some Black Christians — cited the economy, the border, abortion and transgender issues as major concerns.
“I think that God raised him up … for a purpose,” Willie Hubbard Jr., a Black Republican who serves as an elder and minister for the District Heights Church of Christ in Maryland, said of Trump. “I don’t know of any man who could endure all that was put upon him and his family and persevere through it all. God is involved in his life and drawing him near.”
LaCroy Hatcher, a Black Democrat who attends the Greater Heights Church of Christ in Cleveland, wrote that he could not get past his party’s “left agenda, the lack of transparency, lack of regard for human life, lack of potential safety for our women … and the way they have toyed with the American people economically.”
But Shay Cathey, a Black Christian and vice chair of the Texas Democratic Party, lamented Trump’s victory.
Cathey, a member of the Central Pointe Church of Christ in Dallas, voiced worry for immigrants, women and young Black men stopped by police.
“There are Christians who are traumatized,” Cathey said in an interview. “There are believers who are fearful for their lives and the lives of their families as the result of this election.”
An opportunity for dialogue?
Back in the Los Angeles area, Alvin Edington Jr., 51, a life coach and crisis interventionist, pointed to a need for justice reform — with less emphasis on simply sending people to prison.
The Black Christian characterizes Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda as a push to restore a less diverse era of U.S. life characterized by White male power.
Most Trump voters were White, a trend that continued from 2020, but he saw gains among Black voters, particularly younger men, as well as slight gains among Hispanic voters and women voters, according to The Associated Press.
In the election’s aftermath, Edington, the associate minister at Metropolitan — where Fate Hagood serves as the lead minister — said he sees an opportunity for dialogue among Black and White Christians.
“We’re supposed to be the light. We’re supposed to be the city on the hill, right?” Edington said, referring to Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:14. “So we need to have some conversations.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to bridge those racial gaps,” he added. “I think there are economic gaps. I think there are a lot of gaps that we need to bridge. … But also, there are a lot of people who are hurting on both sides, right? … So we conquer fear with our faith.”
Regardless of the election’s outcome, Daisie Washington, an 80-year-old Metropolitan member and great-great-grandmother, said she puts her faith in God.
“The Lord determines who our leaders are going to be for whatever the period is going to be,” Washington said.
But accepting the voters’ will, she stressed, doesn’t require remaining silent on vital concerns.
“If we want change, we have to start here at home,” she said. “I’m not going to sit here passively and not do anything. I’ll do what I can.”
This piece is republished from The Christian Chronicle.
Bobby Ross Jr. writes the Weekend Plug-in column for ReligionUnplugged.com and serves as editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 18 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.