{"id":29033,"date":"2025-09-16T10:22:43","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T14:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=29033"},"modified":"2025-09-17T14:29:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T18:29:59","slug":"few-believe-god-chose-trump-or-biden-but-many-see-a-bigger-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2025\/09\/few-believe-god-chose-trump-or-biden-but-many-see-a-bigger-plan","title":{"rendered":"Few Believe God \u2018Chose\u2019 Trump or Biden\u2014But Many See a Bigger Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
The White House<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A recent <\/span>Pew Research study<\/span><\/a> examined Americans\u2019 views on God\u2019s involvement in elections. Not surprisingly, Christians took a slightly different view on the subject than Americans in general. For example, only 4% of Americans believe that God \u201cchose\u201d President Trump in 2024 because He approves of Trump\u2019s policies. That view is not restricted to President Trump; only 2% believe that God chose President Biden in 2020 because of his policies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Those findings reflect peoples\u2019 overall view of God and politics: nearly one-half of the people (49%) surveyed said that \u201cGod doesn\u2019t get involved in presidential elections. An additional 14% said that they \u201cdon\u2019t believe in God.\u201d\u00a0 The total for those two categories (63%) was nearly identical to the portion of the population who answered the same way for the 2020 election (62%). Looking back to the previous two elections, those two responses accounted for 66% of those surveyed. Clearly, this is not a new phenomenon; nearly two-thirds of Americans don\u2019t believe that God gets directly involved in elections.<\/span><\/p>\n

As might be expected, evangelical Christians view things somewhat differently. Only 27% of white evangelicals said that \u201cGod doesn\u2019t get involved in presidential elections,\u201d compared to over 60% of the overall population. But the vast majority of these respondents did not believe that God \u201cchose\u201d either President Trump or President Biden because of their policies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Only 8% agreed that \u201cGod chose Trump to become president because God approves of Trump\u2019s policies\u201d; only 1% said that God \u201cchose\u201d Biden because of his policies.\u00a0 Clearly, even among white evangelicals, most people do not believe that God \u201cchose\u201d either president.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nor does race seem to play a large role in Christian beliefs on this subject. Black Protestants are somewhat more likely to believe that \u201cGod doesn\u2019t get involved in elections\u201d (approximately 43% as compared to 28% of white evangelicals), but only 4% said that God chose either President Trump or President Biden because of their policies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Catholics and white nonevangelical Protestants are much more likely than other Christians to say that \u201cGod doesn\u2019t get involved in elections\u201d (67%), The percentages for those who stated that God \u201cchose\u201d either Trump or Biden are similar to those in the other groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

So how can \u201cChristians\u201d have such diverging opinions on God\u2019s involvement in elections? Political orientation may play some part. The study revealed that Republicans were nearly twice as likely as Democrats to say that \u201cthe election results must be part of God\u2019s overall plan, even if God didn\u2019t necessarily approve of the winner\u2019s policies.\u201d On the other hand, more Democrats (over 50%) said that God doesn\u2019t get involved in elections than did Republicans (just over 40%).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But theology must also play a part in this wide divergence of \u201cChristian\u201d views. Obviously, any discussion of the impact that theology plays on the views of individual Christians must be recognized as speculation. However, different groups of Christians do have recognizable beliefs that may influence Christian views on God\u2019s role in elections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, Christians in the various Calvinist traditions have a much stronger view of God\u2019s direct involvement in human affairs than do Catholics or Wesleyan-Arminian believers. Clearly, those who believe that God controls and has predestined human affairs would also agree that God \u201cchooses\u201d a particular presidential candidate. On the other hand, those who believe that God has given humans free will would be less likely to think that God picks winners and losers in elections.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a difference, though, between saying that the outcome was \u201cGod\u2019s will\u201d and saying that God chose the winner because of their policies. That difference is reflected in the much larger percentages of Christians who agree that an election \u201cmust be part of God\u2019s overall plan\u201d than those who say that God chose the winner because of their policies. For the 2024 election, the following demonstrates the breakdown between these two positions:<\/span><\/p>\n

Part of God’s Overall Plan:<\/p>\n