Though they have been defined in a multitude of ways, there’s no denying the impact of people of faith in Donald Trump’s landslide victory over Kamala Harris, says a noted Christian researcher. Trump carried 31 states and won 312 electoral votes. Republicans also won control of both the Senate and the House.
George Barna, the director of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, said on American Family Radio that Christians’ impact in the race is being overlooked.
While turnout overall was down roughly seven points from 2020, turnout from Christians – a term loosely defined by mainstream media – was three points higher than the 55% overall total for the 2024 election.
“As I look at all the news reports and commentaries and analysts out there in the mainstream certainly, in places where people often go for information, Christians aren’t even part of the conversation in terms of what they did at the polls. I think it’s important to give Christians their due,” explained Barna.
Barna looked at the exit polling numbers for people who identified as “Christian,” but also dug deeper to look at the group he calls “theologically defined” Christians, or those who say they hold a biblical worldview. It’s the latter group that was particularly motivated to vote, he explained.
“The SAGECONS – the spiritually active government-engaged conservative Christians – theologically defined Evangelicals, were some of the groups that showed up in significantly greater numbers than the rest of the Christian population, which showed up in slightly higher numbers than the population at large,” he added.
It’s possible that a grass-roots, door-knocking effort by groups like the Faith & Freedom Coalition changed some minds and got more Christians to the polls. Tim Head, the Coalition’s executive director, said his people surpassed nine million face-to-face contacts urging people of faith to vote.
“The people whom Mrs. Harris was relying upon – people of non-Christian faiths and people of no religious faith – had below average turnout rates, and that helps to describe why she lost the race,” Barna suggested.
“Mr. Trump, I think, made some bad moves in terms of the party platform … and yet when we looked at our options, I understand where a lot of Christians were coming from. They weren’t excited about voting for him, but we had to keep reminding ourselves we’re not voting for a pastor. We’re not voting for a role model for our grandchildren or our children. We’re voting for somebody who’s going to fight for the policies we believe in,” Barna said.
The election turnout data should make Christians, largely ignored on abortion, a group for Trump to consider in policy decisions. Barna argued that with 78% of the vote coming from Christians, “that gives us the opportunity to have discussions with him and his Cabinet members and his key leaders to talk about what’s important to us and why we put him into office.”
Barna recalled that in the midst of a pre-election rally, Vice President Harris encouraged Christians to leave. “Clearly she wasn’t going to be on our side when it comes to moral and spiritual matters,” he said.
In summary, the Christian vote played a major role in Trump winning a second term – but Barna warned it’s not a group the GOP should take for granted moving ahead.
“We’re going to have to be pretty aggressive in terms of letting him and especially the Republican Party know, ‘Okay, we came in on this one, but if you take a step back from the things that are important to us, don’t count on us being there the next time. Maybe we will, maybe we won’t. We’re not a given. Don’t take us for granted, because we’re not quite sure yet where this ship is headed.’”