In the wake of a deeply consequential election, The State of Belief this week unpacks the electoral role played by religious communities, exploring how various faith groups influenced voter turnout and political coalitions.
Bob Smietana reflects on broader political shifts over the past few elections, stating, “In the last eight years, the last three elections, there’s been a lot of focus on White evangelicals who are very strong supporters of Donald Trump… but some of this is that White Christians in general, for whatever reasons, have leaned toward Donald Trump.” Adelle Banks looks at the fight ahead and recalls a conversation with a Black minister preparing his Sunday sermon, saying, “He’s going to be addressing grief, and talking about the need to have kind of a prophetic grief… as opposed to a pathetic grief… people should be trying to be resilient and moving forward, thinking of examples in the past where African-Americans have made it through difficult times.”
Adelle M. Banks is the projects editor and a national reporter for Religion News Service, covering topics including religion and race, the faith of African Americans and partnerships between government and religious groups. She co-authored Becoming a Future-Ready Church: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders.
Bob Smietana is a national reporter for RNS based near Chicago, covering evangelicals, weird religion and the changing religious landscape. He is the author of Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why it Matters.
