Politics

/

ArcaMax

Kamala Harris’ message to women on ‘freedom’ helps explain why Black and white Christians are deeply divided over support for Donald Trump

Youssef Chouhoud, Christopher Newport University; Dara Delgado, Allegheny College; Flavio Rogerio Hickel Jr., Washington College, and Leah Payne, George Fox University, The Conversation on

Published in Political News

Just days after President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race in July, Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the annual meeting of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority in Indianapolis, where she emphasized the importance of both religious faith and political freedom.

Harris contrasted her stance on abortion rights with that of former President Donald Trump, stating, “Across our nation, we are witnessing a full-on assault on hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and rights,” Harris said. “And in the face of these attacks, we must continue to stand together in defense of freedom.”

By centering “freedom” in her campaign, Harris invoked a key element of Black identity and spirituality rooted in the historic struggle for liberation by formerly enslaved people. This legacy partly drives an attitudinal divide between Black and white Christians, especially on issues such as abortion and support for Trump.

As political science and religion scholars, we view Harris’ remarks as a subtle reminder to voters that Black religious life in the U.S. has long involved an appeal to people of all faiths to use their beliefs to advance social justice.

Her message stands in sharp contrast to Trump’s conservative allies, who have pushed for restrictions on personal freedoms concerning abortion.

To better understand the relationship between race, religion and support for Trump, we fielded an online, national survey in June 2024 supported by the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonprofit organization that conducts public opinion polls on a variety of topics.

In order to compare the views of white and Black Christians, our sample of nearly 1,500 adults included over 700 participants from each racial group. We asked half the sample to indicate their level of agreement with five statements commonly used to measure Christian nationalist beliefs.

Those items include support for religious-based laws and the belief that the U.S. was conceived as a Christian nation.

We then categorized participants according to whether they agreed with most of the statements (“adherents” and “sympathizers”) or disagreed with most of them (“skeptics” and “rejectors”). Over one-third of both Black and white Christians agreed with most Christian nationalist ideas.

We found that Black Christian nationalists are far less likely to support Trump, however, compared with their white counterparts. Additionally, they do not back far-right policies, like those outlined in Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s plan to implement a conservative agenda across the federal government.

These two groups also differ greatly in their evaluation of Trump. Only 17% of Black Christian nationalists expressed a favorable view toward the former president, compared with 49% of white Christian nationalists.

These racial differences are even more pronounced when we examined the attitudes of charismatics – a group of devout Christians who in the late 20th century began emphasizing Pentecostal practices such as divine healing and speaking in tongues, a language of indecipherable sounds believed to be a direct communication with God.

All participants in our survey – 760 white Americans and 734 Black Americans – were asked whether they had personally experienced or witnessed practices of charismatic Christianity. Those include receiving what they believed to be a direct revelation from God.

While only 23% of white Americans in the study were categorized as charismatic, that figure doubled to 51% of Black Americans.

Although prominent white Christian nationalists frequently characterize Trump as “the chosen one,” we found that only 15% of Black charismatics express favorable views of him compared with 52% of white charismatics.

 

The Black radical tradition, helps explain how Black charismatics can share so much with their white counterparts – even an embrace of Christian nationalism – but diverge when it comes to Trump and abortion.

In its contemporary form, the Black radical tradition is an ideological framework that asks its adherents to actively resist policies that threaten racial equality and bodily autonomy. Abortion rights fit squarely within this political tradition.

According to a 2014 Religious Landscape Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, the majority of Black Christians say that abortion should be legal. Those Christians include such denominations as Baptists, Presbyterians and Pentecostals who are not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church.

Over the years, that majority support for abortion among Black Christians has remained stable and mirrors similar support among Black voters overall. In a 2024 Pew Research Center poll, for instance, 73% of Black voters said abortion should be legal.

During her speech before members of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, Harris said that she understood the difficulty in balancing one’s faith with political resistance. But as she explained:

We, who believe in reproductive freedom, will fight for a woman’s right to choose, because one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government should not be telling her what to do!

After Harris accepted Biden’s endorsement, her longtime pastor, Rev. Amos Brown, prayed that Harris would advance her campaign “in the spirit of our ancestors.”

That ancestral spirit includes the Black radical tradition of political resistance – and the ongoing fight for freedom.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Youssef Chouhoud, Christopher Newport University; Dara Delgado, Allegheny College; Flavio Rogerio Hickel Jr., Washington College, and Leah Payne, George Fox University

Read more:
Black church leaders brought religion to politics in the ‘60s – but it was dramatically different from today’s white Christian nationalism

Trump’s die-hard support may be explained by one of his most misunderstood character traits – ‘charisma’

Talk of ‘Christian nationalism’ is getting a lot louder – but what does the term really mean?

Youssef Chouhoud receives funding from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). He is affiliated with PRRI as a Public Fellow.

Dara Delgado receives funding from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). She is affiliated with PRRI as a Public Fellow.

Flavio Rogerio Hickel Jr. receives funding from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). He is affiliated with PRRI as a Public Fellow.

Leah Payne works for Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). She is affiliated with PRRI as a Public Fellow and receives funding from PRRI.


 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

ACLU

ACLU

By The ACLU
Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman

By Amy Goodman
Armstrong Williams

Armstrong Williams

By Armstrong Williams
Austin Bay

Austin Bay

By Austin Bay
Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro

By Ben Shapiro
Betsy McCaughey

Betsy McCaughey

By Betsy McCaughey
Bill Press

Bill Press

By Bill Press
Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Cal Thomas

Cal Thomas

By Cal Thomas
Christine Flowers

Christine Flowers

By Christine Flowers
Clarence Page

Clarence Page

By Clarence Page
Danny Tyree

Danny Tyree

By Danny Tyree
David Harsanyi

David Harsanyi

By David Harsanyi
Debra Saunders

Debra Saunders

By Debra Saunders
Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager

By Dennis Prager
Dick Polman

Dick Polman

By Dick Polman
Erick Erickson

Erick Erickson

By Erick Erickson
Froma Harrop

Froma Harrop

By Froma Harrop
Jacob Sullum

Jacob Sullum

By Jacob Sullum
Jamie Stiehm

Jamie Stiehm

By Jamie Stiehm
Jeff Robbins

Jeff Robbins

By Jeff Robbins
Jessica Johnson

Jessica Johnson

By Jessica Johnson
Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower

By Jim Hightower
Joe Conason

Joe Conason

By Joe Conason
Joe Guzzardi

Joe Guzzardi

By Joe Guzzardi
John Micek

John Micek

By John Micek
John Stossel

John Stossel

By John Stossel
Josh Hammer

Josh Hammer

By Josh Hammer
Judge Andrew Napolitano

Judge Andrew Napolitano

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
Laura Hollis

Laura Hollis

By Laura Hollis
Marc Munroe Dion

Marc Munroe Dion

By Marc Munroe Dion
Michael Barone

Michael Barone

By Michael Barone
Michael Reagan

Michael Reagan

By Michael Reagan
Mona Charen

Mona Charen

By Mona Charen
Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

By Oliver North and David L. Goetsch
R. Emmett Tyrrell

R. Emmett Tyrrell

By R. Emmett Tyrrell
Rachel Marsden

Rachel Marsden

By Rachel Marsden
Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry

By Rich Lowry
Robert B. Reich

Robert B. Reich

By Robert B. Reich
Ruben Navarrett Jr

Ruben Navarrett Jr

By Ruben Navarrett Jr.
Ruth Marcus

Ruth Marcus

By Ruth Marcus
S.E. Cupp

S.E. Cupp

By S.E. Cupp
Salena Zito

Salena Zito

By Salena Zito
Star Parker

Star Parker

By Star Parker
Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore

By Stephen Moore
Susan Estrich

Susan Estrich

By Susan Estrich
Ted Rall

Ted Rall

By Ted Rall
Terence P. Jeffrey

Terence P. Jeffrey

By Terence P. Jeffrey
Tim Graham

Tim Graham

By Tim Graham
Tom Purcell

Tom Purcell

By Tom Purcell
Veronique de Rugy

Veronique de Rugy

By Veronique de Rugy
Victor Joecks

Victor Joecks

By Victor Joecks
Wayne Allyn Root

Wayne Allyn Root

By Wayne Allyn Root

Comics

David Fitzsimmons Randy Enos Ed Wexler A.F. Branco Eric Allie Adam Zyglis