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[Thread] For many of Trump’s supporters, he is seen as the religious liberty candidate.
Yet, new survey evidence suggests that Trump hurts public support for religious freedom. My article in @Religion_Public about this: https://religioninpublic.blog/2020/11/02/donald-trump-hurts-public-support-for-religious-freedom/
Yet, new survey evidence suggests that Trump hurts public support for religious freedom. My article in @Religion_Public about this: https://religioninpublic.blog/2020/11/02/donald-trump-hurts-public-support-for-religious-freedom/
Religious liberty is a chief concern of Trump’s conservative Christian supporters. This has been clear in statements from Paula White-Cain, Albert Mohler, Wayne Grudem, and others. It is a frequent talking point by Pence and Trump on the campaign trail. https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2020/10/6/21504881/mike-pence-vp-debate-utah-trump-president-keeps-promises
Certainly the Trump Administration has altered religious freedom. Most notably, the re-shaped Supreme Court seems likely to make major changes on the religious freedom front, expanding religious rights. See my post with @danielrbenn: https://religioninpublic.blog/2020/10/29/barrett-confirmation-could-cement-shift-in-religious-freedom-law/
But along the way Trump has politicized religious freedom in a variety of ways (see @kelsey_dallas coverage on this). What’s the impact on public support of religious freedom? I launched a survey two weeks ago to try and answer that. https://www.deseret.com/indepth/2020/1/12/21058736/president-donald-trump-religious-freedom-evangelical-christianity-today-election
In the survey, we randomly switched the names of presidential candidates who made a general pro-religious freedom statement. People were either shown Trump, Biden, or Both Candidates supporting religious freedom. (One group was shown no statements – a true control.)
What happened?
When the statement was attached to Trump, support for religious freedom decreased. There was considerable negative backlash against Trump.
When the statement was attached to Trump, support for religious freedom decreased. There was considerable negative backlash against Trump.
We see a similar pattern when people were asked how important religious freedom is to them. Trump supporting religious freedom leads to lower responses. Support seemed to decrease with Biden too, but not as much as Trump.
Looking at how partisans react, we see that linking the statement to Trump enhances polarization. Democrats respond very negatively, while Republicans respond positively.
tl/dr: I conclude with this: “Evidence from this survey experiment suggests that Trump damages public support for religious freedom. The public becomes less supportive of religious freedom when Trump endorses it, and partisans become more polarized.” https://religioninpublic.blog/2020/11/02/donald-trump-hurts-public-support-for-religious-freedom/
In the end, increased protection for religious freedom is not only a legal process but a political one. Tying religious freedom to thee Trump administration seems have negative consequences for public support. Regarding public support, “Trump may be doing more damage than good.”
Tagging some of you who are thinking about and reporting on related questions: @DavidAFrench @kelsey_dallas @Tish_H_Warren @MichaelRWear @NappNazworth @Peter_Wehner @spulliam @emmaogreen @philvischer @tcbergmn @eschor @Anton_Sorkin @melissarogers @JohnInazu
