White evangelical approval of Trump slips, but eight-in-ten say they would vote for him

Amid rising coronavirus cases and widespread protests over racial injustice, President Donald Trump’s approval rating has dropped in recent months among a wide range of religious groups, including white evangelical Protestants. But they remain strongly supportive: Eight-in-ten white evangelicals say they would vote for Trump if the election were held today, and three-quarters say presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden would make a “poor” or “terrible” president, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted June 16 to 22. The new analysis also looks at views toward Trump and Biden among several other religious groups.

Three-in-ten or more Democrats and Republicans don’t agree with their party on abortion

When it comes to abortion, members of Congress are starkly divided by party. Almost all Democrats in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives stand with their party in support of abortion rights, while almost all Republicans reflect their party’s position against abortion rights. Yet the partisan divide among Americans themselves is less stark, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey. As is true on many other political issues, sizable minorities of Republicans and Democrats say they do not agree with the dominant position on abortion of the party they identify with or lean toward. 

The global divide on homosexuality persists

Despite major changes in laws and norms surrounding the issue of same-sex marriage and the rights of LGBT people around the world, public opinion on the acceptance of homosexuality in society remains sharply divided by country, region and economic development, according to a new analysis of Pew Research Center survey data from 34 countries. In addition, religion plays a large role in perceptions of the acceptability of homosexuality in many societies. In certain countries, those who are affiliated with a religious group tend to be less accepting of homosexuality than those who are unaffiliated. And in 25 of the 34 countries surveyed, those who say religion is very important in their lives are less inclined than others to accept homosexuality.

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