Which issues do Christian voters care most about? Survey finds these 3 at the top
As the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election approach, three issues stand out as having the most influence on which candidate Christian voters will support, new research finds.
The economy was the issue identified most, with more than two-thirds of regular churchgoing Christians saying it would impact who they vote for, according to the study published Oct. 7 by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.
Sixty percent of respondents said immigration and border control mattered to them and 59% said crime, law and order was important, according to research.
The research includes two surveys conducted during August and September 2024. The first sampled a total of 2,000 U.S. adults “who self-identified as Christians and attended church services at least once a month,” and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points. The second sampled 1,000 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
The polls found a slight change in issues the religious group was most concerned with ahead of the 2020 election which, according to a 2019 Public Religion Research Institute survey, were terrorism, immigration and health care.
Terrorism was not in the top five issues that respondents said would influence their vote in this year’s election, and health care was not broadly represented as a category in ACU’s survey.
While some pastors teach about election-related topics in their sermons, the research found the issues that matter most to churchgoers are not among the top discussed in church sermons.
Religious freedom, poverty and abortion are the election-related topics respondents say are most preached on, according to the study.
Faith and voter turnout
Researchers also found that people of faith — defined in the surveys as “either someone who described themselves as ‘a person of religious faith’ or as someone who associated with some recognized religious faith” — are less likely to cast their ballots in this election than the previous one.
According to the study, out of the 79% of Americans who are considered people of faith, 51% say they are likely to vote. This leaves an estimated 104 million people of faith who are unlikely to make it out to the polls — including 32 million Christian churchgoers, researchers said.
Christians who attend a non-denominational church are least likely to show for the general election, with an estimated turnout of 46%, the study found. Those who attend a Catholic church are among the most likely to vote, with a 58% estimated turnout rate.
“A primary reason for that diminished interest is the public’s distaste for both major-party candidates,” researchers said.
This story was originally published October 8, 2024 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Which issues do Christian voters care most about? Survey finds these 3 at the top."
