What has been the most common religious affiliation of American presidents?
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:
Joseph Robinette Biden, the 46th President of the United States of America, is Catholic. How many Catholic presidents has the U.S. had?
When JFK was elected the first American Catholic president in 1960 it was a BIG DEAL. In the 2020 election, how much of an issue was President-elect Biden’s Catholicism?
What big story does this chart tell about religion and the presidency?
What recent historical trends in presidential religion do you see in this chart?
In your opinion, what religion that is not yet listed on this chart will be the next one to join the ranks of faith in the White House?
Do you imagine that we have ever had a president who hid their true religious beliefs in order to get elected?
The United States currently has a Catholic President, Jewish Senate Majority Leader, and a Catholic majority on the Supreme Court (6-3). And yet, this is not a BIG DEAL to most Americans. Why do you think that is?
Vice-President Harris has Christian and Hindu roots. Kamala, means “lotus” in Sanskrit, and is another name for the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. Harris grew up in Oakland, CA, attending predominantly Black churches. Her downstairs neighbor, Regina Shelton, often took Kamala and her sister Maya to Oakland's 23rd Avenue Church of God. Harris now considers herself a Black Baptist, and she is married to a Jewish man (our first - second gentleman). How does her religious story compare to that of America?
As of 2024, the percent of the U.S. population that is atheist, agnostic, or "nothing in particular" had risen to 28%. At what point do you think the number of non-religious Americans or “nones” will be a plurality?
How does that growing non-religion impact American politics and when we will have our first “out” non-religious president?
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
Ask ten people to identify the religion of the following: Obama, Trump, Biden, Martin Van Buren. Share your results with your amazing classmates.
Get Creative
If American religion were a color, what would it be?
Learning Extension*
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center shows that many Americans care about their leaders’ faith. For instance, half of all American adults say it’s important for a president to share their religious beliefs. And more people now say there is “too little” religious discussion by their political leaders (40%) than say there is “too much” (27%). Read the rest of the Pew story on religion and the presidency.
