Democrats must face their Christian exodus

There has been a great deal of discussion about the problems Democrats have with men, but a recent survey of over 1,700 Christian voters shows the party should be equally concerned with a mass exodus of Bible believers. 

The poll conducted by Change Research, a San Francisco firm with ties to progressive candidates and causes, found that 70% of respondents do not trust the Democratic Party. In addition, 58% of respondents said the party is unfriendly toward Christianity, while 54% said the same about people who vote Democrat. Roughly 60% said life today is harder than it was 10 years ago for people of faith. 

These results should concern a party that has been working to find its identity since losing the 2024 presidential election.  

The survey included a breakdown along denominational lines, with 60% of respondents identifying as Protestant and 27% as Roman Catholic. It is also important to note that these were not the types of conservative voters that the media likes to portray as religious zealots and Christian nationalists. Close to 60% oppose the Supreme Court overturning the Obergefell decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, and only 49% supported the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. 

In fact, the Time article on the poll noted that black Christians are the only reason things do not look even worse. Over 85% of black voters supported Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, a significant number of whom identify as Christian. But it is only a matter of time before many of those voters wake up to the truth: The modern Democratic party is hostile to the Christian faith. 

One reason is that Democrats are unwilling—or unable—to court religious voters who would threaten their reputation for “inclusivity.” Since the 1960s, Democrats have branded themselves as the party of civil rights, a move that has pushed progressives not just to fight for “marginalized” minority groups, but also to fight against majority groups. Over the course of a few generations, Democrats went from opposing racism and sexism to hating white people and men. Given the left’s hostility toward people who do not enthusiastically embrace LGBT causes, it is no surprise that many Christians are also fleeing the party.  

Democrats periodically cite the Bible to defend their positions on immigration, health care, and social welfare programs. What they do not do, however, is allow the Bible to inform their positions on sex, sexuality, and human dignity. In fact, it is easier to be a Democrat running for national office in 2025 if you believe men can have babies than if you publicly state that men cannot become women. The party is also far more friendly to pundits who would write an op-ed entitled “Democrats Should Become the Pro-Porn Party” than to a conservative commentator with traditional values.  

This does not make the Republican Party synonymous with Christian values. President Trump’s views on same-sex marriage and abortion are to the left of his most conservative Christian voters. And while Republicans do not promote LGBT causes with the same fervor as Democrats, Richard Grenell, a gay man who served as one of Trump’s top cabinet officials during his first term, told Donald Trump Jr. “I really believe that you can’t be anti-gay in the Republican Party and not be run out of the party.” 

The difference between the two parties is that Republicans make space for Christians to express their deeply held religious beliefs. They also defend believers who are dragged into court for living out their values in the public square. The same cannot be said for Democrats. Party leaders do not hesitate to call believers who affirm the biblical model for marriage “bigots” and ask Christian parents who resist “gender-affirming care” propaganda whether they want a “dead son or living daughter.” 

It is unclear how Democrats will handle this demographic shift. The party is extremely popular with pro-abortion feminists and self-identified members of the LGBT community, but people who destroy their offspring, mutilate their bodies, or engage in same-sex relationships cannot produce the next generation of voters. 

Only time will tell whether the Democrats can rebound from these troubling trends. It is not good for one of our two major parties to be alienated from the largest religious group in the country. We can hope the Democrats are learning a valuable lesson about politics: If you tell people you hate them long enough, eventually they will stop voting for you.