President Trump reads from the Bible amid religious backlash and feud with Pope
President Donald Trump read a Bible verse as part of a week-long national scripture reading.
Few American adults consider President Donald Trump to be very religious or religious at all.
The findings, outlined in a recent Pew Research Center survey, capture public opinion just before the president criticized Pope Leo XIV, called him “weak” on crime and posted an illustration of himself resembling the image of Christ.
The poll, conducted April 6-12, found that seven in 10 American adults (70%) say Trump is not religious or not at all religious. This is higher than 62% in Pew’s previous survey in October 2024.
About a quarter (24%) say the president is somewhat religious, down from 31%, and 5% say President Trump is very religious, down from 6% previously, according to the survey.
Are you more likely to think President Trump is religious, or less likely?
Democratic-leaning Democrats and independents are much more likely to say President Trump is not very religious or not religious at all (89%) than Republicans or Republican-leaning voters (49%).
Republicans are also more likely to say Trump is somewhat religious (42%) than Democrats (8%). According to Pew, white evangelical Protestants who generally lean Republican are more likely than other religious groups to say that President Trump is somewhat religious (44%).
Few of those surveyed said they considered President Trump to be very religious. Eight percent of Republicans say they do so, and 5% of white evangelicals say they do.
Among religious groups, Hispanic Catholics have changed the most since Pew’s last survey, with 80% saying President Trump is not very religious or not at all religious, up from 60% in the previous survey.
Hispanic Catholics were also the religious group whose opinions changed the most regarding whether President Trump would defend their religious beliefs at all or at all. More than half (55%) say they stand up for their religious beliefs a little or not at all, up from 40% in February 2024.
According to the survey, 47% of American adults say President Trump has defended their personal religious beliefs at all or not at all. More than a fifth (22%) say Trump is very or very supportive of people who share their religious beliefs. A further 14% said they were “somewhat” supportive of him because of their religious beliefs, the survey found.
What does it mean to be religious? There are “different ways of thinking”
When Pew Research Associate Chip Rotolo, who wrote the research brief, posted a video on Instagram about the findings, there were differing opinions on the president and religion, with one commenter saying, “I don’t think he (Trump) is religious at all.”
Another said Trump may be “more religious than anyone,” adding: “Religion has always been used as an excuse for war, domination, and superiority. Trump supporters will still see him as messianic.”
In response, Rotolo commented, “People have different ideas about what it means to be religious. This question remains open to people’s own assessments. … We are simply trying to understand exactly the public’s views and how they have changed over time.”
Mike Snyder is a national trends news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, and X, and email him at: mike snyder & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com.
