According to a report released by the Public Religion Research Institute, white evangelical women’s support for Trump has started to decline.
White evangelicals in general still hold the strongest support base for Trump; however, 69% of evangelical men said that they favored the president while only 59% of women agreed, according to Relevant Magazine.
For Mormons, the number of women supporting the president dropped to 45% while 64% of men do. The number drops even lower for Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Unitarian Universality and other religions with roughly only 30% of women holding favorable views of the commander in chief.
According to an article released by the Huffington Post, the gender gap has long existed amongst Democrats and Republicans. More women are likely to consider themselves Democrats than men. This was made especially apparent in the 2016 election when 52% of men voted for Trump and 41% of women voted for Hilary Clinton, as reported by Rutgers. This was the largest gender gap of 11 points since 1996.
But Trump’s aggressive language over the years has put white evangelical women in a difficult spot. Though many men resonate with the president’s abrasive behavior, according to Karen Swallow Prior, a professor of English at Liberty University, it has struck a nauseating tone for women who have suffered at the hands of an abusive leader.
“Women—who are most often the victims of these abuses—are more likely to see such behaviors for what they are,” she said.
Nonetheless, Trump’s anti-abortion rhetoric has also given evangelical women hope for their pro-life agenda. A vote for Trump, regardless of his aggressive language, could save the lives of babies.
“It’s requiring some of us to really think through a more holistic life ethic,” she said. “Is a vote for Trump a vote for life—or is it a Faustian bargain that will destroy our movement in the end? This is the question I’m asking along with many other evangelical pro-life women I know.”
She continued: “I think it’s too early to tell, but I suspect that when the time comes, evangelicals have been trained for generations to put their hopes in Supreme Court appointments. The president is viewed simply as a means to that end.”
Evangelical Trump supporters have remained a stable base for the president even through his impeachment hearing. His favorability amongst evangelicals remained nearly the same throughout the proceedings and their devotion will likely remain a key pillar in his re-election campaign.
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Mikaela Mathews is a freelance writer and editor based in Dallas, TX. She was the editor of a local magazine and a contributing writer for the Galveston Daily News and Spirit Magazine. She blogs at mikaelamathews.com.
