A new poll conducted by HarrisX for Deseret News revealed disparate views between Republicans and Democrats on who is a “person of faith” in their respective parties. The poll was conducted Sept. 8-11 among 1,002 registered voters. Sixty-three percent of Democrats stated they believed President Joe Biden to be a “person of faith,” while Vice President Kamala Harris came in second place at 45 percent amongst Democrats. These numbers changed significantly when posed to Republicans, with 23 percent stating that Biden is a person of faith and only 12 percent stating that Harris is. 

President Biden is Catholic, and while running for President in 2020, he wrote to The Christian Post touting the role his faith has played in his life, writing, “My Catholic faith drilled into me a core truth – that every person on earth is equal in rights and dignity because we are all beloved children of God. We are all created ‘imago Dei’ – beautifully, uniquely, in the image of God, with inherent worth. It is the same creed that is at the core of our American experiment and written into our founding documents – that we are all created equal and endowed by our creator with inalienable rights.” Biden has faced criticism for his support of codifying abortion into national law, which differs strongly from the Catholic catechism, which states, “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception.” The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities rebuked him with a statement saying, “The President is gravely wrong to continue to seek every possible avenue to facilitate abortion, instead of using his power to increase support and care to mothers in challenging situations. This single-minded extremism must end, and we implore President Biden to recognize the humanity in preborn children and the genuine life-giving care needed by women in this country.”

Meanwhile, Republicans chose former president Donald Trump as the person they most see as a person of faith, with 53 percent choosing him, one point higher than the 52 percent Mike Pence received. Governor Ron DeSantis received 47 percent, while Nikki Haley and Senator Tim Scott both received 31 percent. Vivek Ramaswamy, the only non-Christian in the GOP primary, received 30 percent. Trump’s numbers were lower, however, when evangelical voters were polled, with only 37 percent stating he is a person of faith while 65 percent stated Mike Pence is. Although Trump has managed to keep his edge amongst evangelical voters, there have been some indications of tension in the relationship. Once again, abortion could play a role in this tension. Despite initially touting the overturning of Roe v. Wade as a political victory, Trump has been somewhat more ambivalent about abortion laws in the country lately. He criticized Ron DeSantis for Florida’s abortion ban after 6 weeks as a “terrible mistake,” sparking outrage from other Republicans. DeSantis pushed back, saying, “I don’t know how you can even make the claim that you’re somehow pro-life if you’re criticizing states for enacting pro-life protections for babies.” Unsurprisingly, only 14 percent of Democrats believe the former President to be a person of faith.