By The Opinion
Sep 17, 2024, 6:40 PM EDT
According to a Lifeway Research study conducted between August 8 and September 3, 2024, nearly all Protestant pastors in the United States (97%) plan to vote in the 2024 presidential election, but nearly a quarter refused to answer the question of who they would vote for.
However, of the rest who did confess their predilection, 49% of Latino evangelical pastors support Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy and has already registered with the Republican Party, a percentage far higher than the 13% of these religious leaders who support Vice President Kamala Harris, the poll found.
The poll found that the main reason behind support for Trump is his “ability to maintain national security,” according to 78% of the Latino pastors surveyed.
Almost all US Protestant pastors (97%) plan to vote in the 2024 presidential election, but around a quarter (23%) refused to answer the question of whom they’ll cast their ballot for. Few felt the same hesitancy in 2020 (4%) or 2016 (3%). https://t.co/xxgJfqliFW
— Lifeway Research (@LifewayResearch) September 17, 2024
Added to this is the fact that 65% support Trump in nominating judges to the Supreme Court of the United States and maintaining the conservative majority.
On the other hand, Latino pastors expressed little interest in the candidates’ stance on the climate crisis, with only 42% seeing it as an “issue of interest,” compared to 65% of African-American pastors.
Hispanic religious leaders showed even less interest in the candidates’ moral character, with only 22% considering this aspect relevant, a figure similar to that of white pastors.
In contrast, 71% of African American pastors said they will vote for Harris, while 53% of all white pastors will support Trump. This percentage increases to 65% among Baptists and Pentecostals.
“When asked about many issues related to today’s culture, pastors are willing to weigh in. However, a growing number of pastors are avoiding answering their voting intentions,” explained Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, in introducing the survey.
According to a study by the Pew Research Center, the traditional apathy of Latino evangelical congregations towards politics has changed in part because, in 2019, Catholicism ceased to be the majority religious group among Hispanics, now representing only 47% of Latino believers. At the same time, 23% of Latinos are evangelicals.
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