Kerby Anderson

The Democratic party has a God gap that will likely affect them in coming years. David French wrote about this in his recent book, but then decided to delete this chapter before it was published. Fortunately, he wrote about it earlier this month and joined me on radio to explain it. He begins by reminding us how close the last presidential election was. Donald Trump’s base shrank, yet Joe Biden nearly lost anyway. Roughly 44,000 votes in three states “separated Biden and Trump from a tie in the Electoral College.” David French also sets aside what has been called the “wokeness” problem in the Democratic party. James Carville acknowledged in a recent interview that, “Wokeness is a problem, and everyone knows it.” There is certainly a messaging problem, but the problem is deeper because it is related to religion. The Democratic party is currently composed of the least religious people and the most religious people. Fewer than half of white Democrats describe themselves as Christians, and only three-in-ten regularly attend religious services. More than four-in-ten are religious “nones” or religiously unaffiliated. Contrast that with Black and Hispanic Democrats who do describe themselves as Christians and attend religious services on a regular basis. Only five percent say they don’t believe in God or a higher power, while 21 percent of white Democrats agree with that statement. The Democratic party contains a disproportionate number of the most religious communities (black Americans) and one of the least religious groups (white progressives). While you could argue that Joe Biden was able to bridge the God gap in this election, there is every reason to believe that future Democratic candidates (like those who ran in the 2020 primary) are going to be more secular in their tone and language. This poses a problem for the Democratic party in the future.