Australia’s Largest Christian News Site

No one is more politically engaged than atheists, a recent study found.

The faith of America’s voters played a pivotal role in the 2024 election, but a study shows one religious group is more politically active than any other.

Ryan Burge, an associate professor of Political Science at Eastern Illinois University and research director for Faith Counts, analysed different religions and Christian denominations in the United States by their level of engagement in the political process in 2020 using six criteria: donating money to a candidate, putting up a political sign, working for a candidate or campaign, attending a political meeting, attending a protest or march, and contacting a public official. Then he rated each faith and denomination.

“Atheists are the most politically engaged ‘religious’ category,” wrote Burge. “No one participates more in politics than atheists.” Secularists did more on these measures of political involvement than any other group over successive election cycles in 2018, 2020, and 2022, said Burge.

By contrast, Nones — those who belong to no religious background but do not necessarily deny the existence of God — rank as the least politically engaged religious subgroup, found the study titled “What Religious Groups are The Most Politically Active?” published a month before the 2024 election.

Burge also found the Christian denominations most open to secularism were more engaged in the civic process than more traditional Christian groupings.

The Episcopal Church (TEC) led all denominations donating money to a candidate and tied with the United Church of Christ (UCC) in putting up a political sign. The two liberal Protestant denominations were followed by interdenominational Christians and the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA). Non-denominational fundamentalists came in fifth in both categories.

The UCC led TEC in working for a candidate or campaign, attending a political meeting, attending a protest or march, and contacting a public official. Interdenominational Christians, non-denominational charismatic Christians, and the PCUSA filled out the top five in each category.

UCC clergy were particularly visible in recent campaigns to normalise abortion. For instance, Terry Williams, who identifies himself as the pastor of a United Church of Christ in Ohio, stated in a televised ad, “I am pro-abortion, not in spite of my faith, but because of my faith.”

“[T]he same broad trend is crystal clear — mainline Protestant groups were much more politically involved in 2020 compared to the average evangelical tradition,” noted Burge. “For instance, the Southern Baptist Convention scores below average on basically every one of these political activities. Their influence in the political process comes more from their sheer size than from the actual engagement of each Southern Baptist in the political process.”

The Most Politically Engaged Denominations

Only one putatively Christian denomination proved more politically engaged than atheists: The Episcopal Church.

“I think this data shows us where different groups turn to try to solve the problems we see around us,” Joseph Backholm, senior fellow for Biblical Worldview and Strategic Engagement at Family Research Council, told The Washington Stand. “Christians should engage politically as an act of stewardship and to help government accomplish the purposes God created it for: to reward good and punish evil. But Christians understand the biggest problems can’t be solved politically, which is why the church is engaged in so many other things, especially evangelism.”

“But for atheists, the only possible solution to the problems in the world are political,” Backholm noted.

While atheists may take part more regularly in these measures, according to Burge, exit polls show conservative, pro-life Christians played a crucial role in electing Donald J. Trump the 47th president in 2024.

Donald Trump won 81% of the white evangelical Christian vote, which made up 22% of voters, according to NBC News. Fox News found Trump won nearly two out of every three voters who attend church services weekly, while Kamala Harris won 62% of the 33% of voters who “never” attend church. In all, 65% of the 2024 electorate identified as Protestant, Roman Catholic, other denominations, or part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS).

President-elect Trump won 62% of members of the LDS church, 60% of Protestant voters, 59% of white Roman Catholics, Mormons by 29 points (62% to 33%), and “other Christian” believers by 24 points (61% to 37%).

Burge’s previous research found that people of faith tend to vote for Republican or conservative candidates, while secularists favor liberals. “Democrats are making gains in areas where religion is fading,” writes Burge, “and Republicans are increasing their vote share in places where houses of worship are gaining new members.”

Kamala Harris won 69% of voters who identify as Nones, keeping with a trend from the midterms. CNN exit polls showed that two-thirds of Democratic voters in 2022 said they “never” attend religious services, while two out of three Republicans attend church “weekly or more.”

Yet the Democrats’ good news may be coming to an end, said Burge. “The rise of the nones may be largely over now. At least it won’t be increasing in the same way that it did in the prior thirty years,” wrote Burge.

How that impacts U.S. politics depends whether the Nones turn toward or away from belief in the Almighty. “The less your worldview values God, the more dependent you are on government to meet your needs, and the more interested you are in politics,” concluded Backholm.

___

Republished with thanks to The Washington Stand. Image courtesy of Pexels.