It is Sunday, so it is only appropriate to ask this question: Who would Jesus vote for, Donald Trump or Joe Biden?
Fear not, my beloved followers, I can actually tell you because a recent survey gives us the answer, and I'm certain it's gospel.
The survey of Evangelicals and Catholics was commissioned by Vote Common Good, a voter mobilization nonprofit, and compiled by several university researchers. The results: 28% said Jesus would vote for Trump, and 27% for Biden.
There was a lot of uncertainty, as 23% predicted Jesus would likely simply not vote. The rest? It was a tossup, or they just had no idea.
So, in a nutshell, the Jesus vote was undecided, overall.
Still, Catholics were much more likely to say Jesus would vote for Biden, as 35% said that would happen, while 25% said he'd vote for Trump. More Evangelicals, 31%, were certain Jesus would vote for Trump, with only 20% saying he'd vote for Biden.
The survey was conducted in five swing states, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and showed that overall there could be an 11-point swing among those religious voters away from Trump and toward Biden.
Among Catholics, 2020 is on track to produce a +16% swing towards Biden compared to 2016. Whereas Clinton lost Catholics to Trump in 2016 (R 50%/D 36%), Biden is on track to narrowly win Catholics (R 43%/D 45%).
Among swing state Evangelicals, 2020 is on track to produce a +7% swing towards Biden over t2016. Whereas Clinton lost Evangelicals to Trump by a large margin in 2016 (R 59%/D 25%), Biden is on track to narrow that margin (R 59%/D 33%).
Now what is motivating these shifts?
The survey asked respondents to rate the candidates on the seven cardinal virtues of kindness, generosity, humility, chastity, modesty, diligence, and patience. It also asked them to rate the candidates on the seven deadly sins of lust, sloth, greed, wrath, gluttony, envy, and pride.
The Seven Cardinal Virtues
On average, 50% of respondents rated Biden as more virtuous than Trump, while 39% said, no Trump is the virtuous one.
The largest gap between candidates emerged for the virtues of humility and modesty.
49% viewed Biden as higher on humility than Trump, while 22% perceived Trump as having more humility than Biden.
44% viewed Biden as more modest than Trump and 22% perceived Trump as more modest than Biden.
Among Catholics, 55% rated Biden as more virtuous than Trump, and 34% said, oh no, my man Trump is more virtuous than Biden.
Among Evangelicals, Biden closed the gap, with 45% giving him the edge on virtue, compared to 44% for Trump.
The Seven Deadly Sins
On average, 51% rated Trump as more sinful than Biden, and 37% said Biden is more sinful than Trump.
The largest gap between candidates emerged for the sins of pride and anger.
49% said Trump is more prideful than Biden; 20% said Biden is more prideful than Trump.
48% of respondents viewed Trump as more angry than Biden, while 22% said it is Biden who is the angry man.
Among Catholics, 57% rated Trump as more sinful than Biden, while 32% said Biden is the big sinner.
Among Evangelicals, 46% rated Trump as more sinful than Biden, and 41% rated Biden as more sinful than Trump.
The single sin that caused Trump the most trouble in the survey was the perception that he is lustful. In fact, researchers said the survey results "suggest that disaffected Trump voters may generally be willing to forgive Trumps’ perceived sins (except lust), but not his perceived lack of basic Christian virtues (especially kindness)."
Still, despite the fact that Evangelicals find it hard to forgive Trump's lustfulness, his pridefulness, his lack of humility, and his anger, the majority still say they will vote for him, although that margin apparently is softening.
Let us pray that enough of them see the light to send Trump to his doom and Biden to the Promised Land.
November 3.