Far more Catholics, other Christians back Trump than Clinton

Far more Catholics and other Christians voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election than did for Hillary Clinton.

During the election campaign it was queried whether the three-times married Trump would get white evangelical support.

As it has turned out, 81 per cent of self-identified white, born-again or evangelical Christians said they had voted for him, with just 16 per cent voting for Clinton.

Over a quarter (26 per cent) of voters in this year’s election described themselves as white, born-again or evangelical Christians.

Figures from the independent Washington-based Pew Research Centre “fact tank” show that “white born-again or evangelical Christians and white Catholics strongly supported Donald Trump” while groups that traditionally backed Democratic candidates, “including Hispanic Catholics and Jews, were firmly in Hillary Clinton’s corner”.

Trump’s strong support among white Catholics gave him a seven-point lead among Catholics overall, 52 per cent to Clinton’s 45 per cent, even as Hispanic Catholics backed Clinton by a 41 point margin,67 per cent to Trump’s 26 per cent.

White Catholics voted for Trump by a 23 per cent margin - 60 per cent to 37 per cent for Clinton.

Of voters this year, 23 per cent described themselves as Catholic. Overall, 52 per cent of those who voted described themselves as Protestant/other Christian (including evangelicals).

Overall, 58 per cent of these supported Trump against 39 per cent for Clinton. Among Mormons, 61 per cent supported Trump, to 25 per cent for Clinton.

Weekly churchgoers

Most weekly churchgoers gave Trump significant backing over Clinton, 56 per cent to 40 per cent. Those who said they attended religious services less regularly,between a few times a month and a few times a year, were more divided, with less regular attendees more likely to support Clinton.

Where those who went to church monthly were concerned, 49 per cent supported Trump, against 46 per cent for Clinton. For those who attended church annually, Clinton had a slight edge - 48 per cent to Trump’s 47 per cent.

As for those who said they don’t attend religious services, 62 per cent backed Clinton to 31 per cent for Trump, a 31-point margin.

Where the religions in general were concerned, Clinton did best among non-Christians.

Among Jews she secured 71 per cent support, to 24 per cent for Trump. Among voters of other faiths her support was 62 per cent, to 29 per cent for Trump. And among the religiously unaffiliated she had the support of 68 per cent, to 26 per cent for Trump.

However, just 15 per cent of voters were in the religiously unaffiliated category, with 8 per cent being voters of other faiths and just 3 per cent describing themselves as Jewish.