A recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center revealed that half of American adults now believe that under the Biden administration, evangelical Christians will not be able to further their influence in Washington D.C.
According to Christian Headlines, the survey was conducted online from January 8 to 12, with as much as 5,360 American adults responding to survey questions. The survey revealed that while 39% believe that the Biden administration won't affect the influence of evangelical Christians in the state, a hopeful 9% believe that they will gain clout under the new administration.
Notably, evangelical Christians were some of former President Trump's most passionate supporters, but with the new Biden administration comes the supporters of the "devout Catholic" president.
The Pew Research Center survey revealed that the majority of Republicans and white Protestants are the ones who most believed that evangelicals will lose clout under the Biden administration. About 72% believe this, as well as 61% of White Protestants who do not identify as born-again or evangelical. Only 5% of evangelicals are hopeful to gain influence under the Biden administration.
It is also important to note how political affiliations affect the results of the survey. The Pew Research Center survey found that it was mostly men and Republicans who were more likely to believe that there will be a loss of influence for evangelical Christians under the Biden administration. Even a significant portion of women and Democrats believe the same.
Interestingly, the survey also found that Black Protestants are more likely to agree that "people like them" will gain influence in Washington D.C. under the Biden administration, with about 55% believing that. On the other hand, just 4% claim they will lose influence.
Overall, the results among Black Americans are similar, indicative that these respondents have also considered other aspects of their identity aside from religious affiliation when responding to the question. Race also does play a part.
Two-thirds of white evangelical Protestants believe that "people like them" will lose clout under the Biden administration, while only 9% believe otherwise. As for American Catholics, 32% believe that "people like them" will lose influence in Washington D.C. under the Biden administration, versus 25% who think otherwise.
Additionally, Hispanic Catholics were more inclined to believe that "people like them" will gain influence over the course of Biden's presidency. Finally, both Black Protestants and Hispanic Catholics were more likely to identify as Democrats, versus White Protestants and White Catholics, who affiliated themselves with Republicans. Only a quarter of American adults without a religious affiliation believed that they would gain or lose clout in the next four years.
The Biden administration is led by the second Catholic president in the history of the United States after John F. Kennedy. His controversial views on issues such as abortion and the LGBTQ community have driven a wedge between him and the most devout Christians in the country. After his inauguration, Biden signed several executive orders that elicited responses from people who were concerned about their effects.
