Photo Credit: Americans United
Presidential approval polls taken during the first ten months of Trump's term have shown him to be the least popular U.S. president in the history of modern opinion polls. A Pew Research Center global poll conducted in July 2017, found "a median of just 22 percent has confidence in Trump to do the right thing when it comes to international affairs." This compares to a median of 64 percent rate of confidence for his predecessor Barack Obama.
A new research from Pew Research Center shows that more than two years after Donald Trump became president, churchgoing White Evangelicals support him more than any other group. The analysis of the new survey data shows that white mainline Protestants and white Catholics are less approving of Trump’s performance than are white evangelicals, but more approving than religiously unaffiliated Americans — those who identify as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular.
Current research shows that 69% of white evangelical Protestants approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president, according to the Center’s latest polling in January 2019. This is somewhat lower than Trump’s approval rating in the earliest days of his tenure – when about eight-in-ten white evangelicals (78%) approved of his job performance – but is in line with most polls conducted by the Center since the inauguration. Looking at the period of Trump’s presidency overall, about half of Mormons (52%) approve of his job performance, while smaller shares of Jews (24%) and Muslims (18%) say the same.
An interesting conclusion that came from the research is that people who attend church regularly give greater support to Trump. As the Pew Research Center notes, white evangelical Protestants who regularly attend church (that is, once a week or more) approve of Trump at rates matching or exceeding those of white evangelicals who attend church less often.
Indeed, in the first few months of Trump’s presidency, white evangelicals who attended church at least weekly were more likely than the less-frequent churchgoers to approve of Trump’s performance (79% vs. 71%). In the most recent period analyzed — from July 2018 to January 2019 — 70% of white evangelicals who attend church at least once a week approve of Trump, as do 65% of those who attend religious services less often.
In the most recent period analyzed, 52% of white Catholics who attend Mass weekly approve of Trump, as do 45% of those who attend services less often.
