New Report Sheds Light On The Role Of Faith In A Polarized America
NEW YORK — A new report issued on Tuesday found that religious beliefs aren’t motivated by politics and that a series of “misconceptions” has left Americans polarized.
More in Common, a nonpartisan research organization, released the report in which more than 6,000 Americans were polled just two months before the presidential election.
The report’s aim, according to the group, is to “paint a clear picture of faith in America … dispelling key misperceptions surrounding faith communities.”
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Among those misconceptions, the report found, is the belief that religion (particularly within evangelical and Catholic traditions) is heavily politicized. In fact, the survey found that that a majority of Americans turn to faith for spiritual support rather than politics.
“This report shines a light on the enormous potential of America’s faith communities to heal divisions and foster a more united society,” said Jason Mangone, executive director of More in Common US. “It’s time we move beyond the misperceptions that have distorted the public narrative about faith in America and embrace the vital role faith leaders can play in building bridges across divides.”
The report also highlighted a series of “misconceptions.” One of them, the report said, is that there “are big gaps between most Americans’ perceptions and the reality of the role of politics in religious life, especially as it relates to evangelical Christian communities.”
The report added, “Our research found that non-evangelicals significantly overestimate the importance Evangelicals place on their political identity and partisan affiliation.”
For example, nonevangelicals overestimate by 10 times how much evangelicals say political party affiliation is their most important identity – 41% vs. just 4% in reality.
This misconception stems from the way evangelicals and traditional Catholics have voted in recent presidential cycles, including support for President Donald Trump. In fact, Pew Research Center recently found that U.S. religious groups that traditionally have leaned Republican are backing Trump by wide margins. At the same time, religious groups that traditionally have favored Democratic candidates are mostly supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.
Pew found that 82% of White evangelical Protestants favor Trump ahead of the Nov. 5 vote. At the same time, 61% of White Catholics and 58% of White nonevangelical Protestants said they preferred Trump.
Among White evangelicals, support for Trump is “higher among those who attend church regularly — that is, at least once or twice a month — than among those who don’t,” Pew found.
The More in Common report found that despite the U.S. being a more secular nation, the majority of Americans — including younger generations — still view religious identity as a vital part of their lives.
The study also dispelled stereotypes about religious intolerance — revealing that most communities of faith value pluralism and yearn for an American society in which all religions are welcome.
“Americans also have significant perception gaps when it comes to understanding how important faith is to their fellow citizens, especially to younger generations,” the report said. “Reports about the increase in religious ‘nones’ — the population who identify as having no religious affiliation — and declining membership of some Mainline Protestant churches do capture important trends in American society. But the general public underestimates the value Americans, especially younger Americans, still place on personal faith and belonging to faith communities.”
More in Common’s study found that 73% of Americans see their faith as an important part of who they are. Young generations of Jewish and Muslim Americans, in particular, value their identities “much more than commonly assumed.”
At the same time, the group also released a set of recommendations and called on faith leaders to “leverage their influence to reduce political polarization, promote dialogue and challenge the misconceptions that fuel division.”
“One of the most important findings is that Americans’ religious lives are far more nuanced than the political narratives surrounding them,” said Coco Xu, the report’s lead author. “While some media narratives may portray communities of faith as intolerant, politically-driven, or increasingly irrelevant, our research suggests otherwise; most religious Americans — evangelical or otherwise — prioritize their relationship with God, their families and moral values over their political identity.”
The full report is available here.
Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged. He previously served as deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and a longtime reporter at The New York Post. Follow him on X @ClementeLisi.