---
title: "Faith First Conservatives"
description: "Faith First Conservatives are deeply conservative in their political values and are stalwart supporters of the Republican Party and Donald Trump, though their political style is not as uncompromising as No Apologies Right (the other typology group firmly at the core of the Republican coalition). They are highly religious and hold traditional stances on many […]"
date: "2026-06-10"
authors:
  - name: "Jocelyn Kiley"
    job_title: "Director, Politics Research"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/jocelyn-kiley/"
  - name: "J. Baxter Oliphant"
    job_title: "Senior Researcher "
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/baxter-oliphant/"
  - name: "Hannah Hartig"
    job_title: "Senior Researcher"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/hannah-hartig/"
  - name: "Gabriel Borelli"
    job_title: "Research Associate"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/gabriel-borelli/"
  - name: "Andrew Daniller"
    job_title: "Research Associate"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/andrew-daniller/"
  - name: "Steven Shepard"
    job_title: "Associate Director, Politics"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/steven-shepard/"
  - name: "Ted Van Green"
    job_title: "Research Analyst"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/ted-van-green/"
  - name: "Andy Cerda"
    job_title: "Research Analyst"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/andy-cerda/"
  - name: "Shanay Gracia"
    job_title: "Research Analyst"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/shanay-gracia/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/06/10/faith-first-conservatives/"
categories:
  - "Partisanship & Issues"
  - "Political Issues"
  - "Political Typology"
  - "Politics & Policy"
  - "U.S. Elections & Voters"
---

# Faith First Conservatives

## Staunch conservatives and strong Trump supporters who stand out for their faith-oriented politics

**About this research**

This Pew Research Center study goes beyond Americans’ partisan attachments and vote choices to explore the values and attitudes that underlie the political landscape and the Republican and Democratic parties. We did this by creating a political typology, which classifies the public into nine groups based on their responses to 30 questions about government, economics, immigration, elected officials and other topics. To learn more about this project, jump to “[About the political typology](http://pewresearch.org/political-typology/about)."

#### Why did we do this?

Pew Research Center conducts research to help the public, media and decision-makers understand important topics. We have studied Americans’ political values and attitudes, and their views on politics more broadly, for decades. This is the [ninth version of the political typology](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/06/10/appendix-c-the-history-of-the-political-typology/); the first was conducted [nearly 40 years ago](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/1987/09/30/the-people-the-press-politics/).

Learn more [about Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/about/).

#### How did we do this?

We surveyed 10,357 U.S. adults from Nov. 17 to 30, 2025. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population. We then used a statistical technique called cluster analysis to divide people into nine groups. (For more on the process of dividing people into groups and surveys used for analysis, jump to [Appendix B](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/06/10/appendix-b-typology-group-creation-and-analysis/).)

Here are the [survey questions](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/PP_2026.5.10_political-typology_questionnaire.pdf) used for this analysis, the [detailed responses](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/PP_2026.5.10_political-typology_topline.pdf) and the [survey methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/06/10/typology-2026-appendix-a-survey-methodology/).[][]

Faith First Conservatives are deeply conservative in their political values and are stalwart supporters of the Republican Party and Donald Trump, though their political style is not as uncompromising as [No Apologies Right](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/06/10/no-apologies-right/) (the other typology group firmly at the core of the Republican coalition). They are highly religious and hold traditional stances on many social issues.

![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/FFC_quiz_card.png?w=260){.alignright width=280}

*Faith First Conservatives are one of nine groups in Pew Research Center’s 2026 Political Typology. To learn more about the typology, start with the [overview](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/06/10/beyond-red-vs-blue-the-political-typology/).* *To find which group is your best fit, [take the quiz](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/quiz/political-typology/). *

By wide majorities, **Faith First Conservatives oppose abortion and see same-sex marriage as bad for society.** Nearly all say gender is determined by one’s sex at birth. They are more likely than others to view gambling, watching pornography, using marijuana and getting a divorce as morally wrong.

**Faith First Conservatives are highly critical of traditional U.S. allies. **Like No Apologies Right, many view them as a burden and are skeptical of international organizations like NATO. Many also say the United States stands above other countries. And they place particular value on the nation’s status as a military superpower.

While Faith First Conservatives hold conservative stances on border security and are generally supportive of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, they are not as hard-line as No Apologies Right when it comes to immigration policy.

**Faith First Conservatives are:**

- **By far the most religious – and most Christian – typology group. **They are also much more likely than other groups to regularly attend religious services.

- **Fiscally oriented toward small government. **They prefer a government that is more hands-off on economic issues and generally oppose social welfare programs.

- **One of the most rural groups,** with 41% saying they live in rural areas.

- **Strong Republicans who back Trump.** But their support is less absolute than that of No Apologies Right, with many saying they have mixed feelings about the way Trump conducts himself. They also are less likely to embrace an uncompromising approach to politics.

**What is the political typology?**

Pew Research Center’s political typology divides the American public into nine political groups based on responses to 30 questions about people’s social and political values and beliefs.

The goal of this long-standing project is to go beyond partisan leanings or vote choices to provide a deeper understanding of the American political landscape. This is the [ninth version of the political typology](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/06/10/appendix-c-the-history-of-the-political-typology/) – the first was conducted [nearly 40 years ago.](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/1987/09/30/the-people-the-press-politics/)

These questions were asked in a survey of 10,357 U.S. adults conducted Nov. 17-30, 2025, using Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel – a nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults.

For more on the cluster analysis process used to create the groups, the questions used, and how we look at data across multiple surveys, visit [Appendix B.](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/06/10/appendix-b-typology-group-creation-and-analysis/)

Take the [typology quiz](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/quiz/political-typology/) to find out which political typology group you fit into.

### Political affiliation, voting and engagement

Nearly all Faith First Conservatives (95%) are Republicans or Republican-leaning independents, and about half say they *strongly *identify with the GOP (47%). More than three-quarters (78%) describe themselves as conservative.

### Faith First Conservatives’ partisan affiliation

*% who are …*

|  | Strong Dem | Not strong Dem | Lean Dem | No Lean | Lean Rep | Not strong Rep | Strong Rep |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Faith First Conservatives | 1% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 29% | 18% | 47% |

Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Nov. 17-30, 2025.

As of April, 81% approve of Trump’s job performance, with 58% strongly approving. Nine-in-ten say they support the MAGA movement, and about eight-in-ten (82%) have a favorable view of the Republican Party.

**Faith First Conservatives are fairly politically engaged,** though not quite at the levels of [No Apologies Right](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/06/10/no-apologies-right/) and [Loyal Liberals](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/06/10/loyal-liberals/):

- 75% turned out to vote in the 2024 presidential election. Among those who voted, 97% went for Trump.

- 72% follow news about the government at least some of the time.

- 66% say it really matters who wins control of Congress in the 2026 elections.

### Key attitudes and beliefs

**Faith First Conservatives are especially conservative when it comes to traditional social values.** About half (49%) say believing in God is essential to being a good and moral person, and they are more likely than those in other groups to oppose abortion and see homosexuality as morally wrong.

### Faith First Conservatives: Deeply conservative social values and on other issues, with a less combative approach to politics than No Apologies Right

*% who say …*

| Typology group | Medication abortion should be illegal | It is essential to believe in God in order to be good and moral | Homosexuality is morally wrong | Illegal immigration is a very big problem in the country today | The U.S. stands above all other countries in the world | It is extremely important for Trump to push hard for his politics against Democrats |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Leftward Progressives | 1% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 6% |
| Loyal Liberals | 2% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 4% | 6% |
| Left Out Left | 11% | 10% | 15% | 15% | 4% | 7% |
| Order and Opportunity Left | 16% | 27% | 32% | 31% | 13% | 10% |
| Tuned Out Middle | 35% | 32% | 51% | 28% | 17% | 7% |
| Pragmatic and Polite Right | 31% | 28% | 48% | 47% | 21% | 14% |
| Unconventional Right | 26% | 17% | 48% | 45% | 31% | 15% |
| Faith First Conservatives | 69% | 49% | 82% | 73% | 54% | 29% |
| No Apologies Right | 45% | 30% | 64% | 82% | 68% | 50% |

Note: For full question wordings and distributions, refer to the detailed tables.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted May 5-11 and Nov. 17-30, 2025, and Jan. 20-26 and April 20-26, 2026.

Like No Apologies Right,** Faith First Conservatives are far more likely than those in other groups to say the U.S. stands above all other countries **and that its influence has been getting stronger in recent years.

**They see illegal immigration as a big problem for the country and favor restrictive immigration policies. **They are among the strongest supporters of the Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement.

**They also express clear preferences for limiting the federal government’s role as a social safety net.** Most reject the idea that the government has a responsibility to ensure Americans have healthcare coverage, and about three-quarters say government services should be reduced from their current levels. But Faith First Conservatives are somewhat more likely than most other typology groups to say the government should have a role in encouraging people to have children, and 64% say fewer people having children is bad for society.

### Faith is a stronger guiding force than for other groups

Religion influences many aspects of Faith First Conservatives’ worldview – to a greater extent than for those in other groups.

### Religion shapes the views of Faith First Conservatives in many domains

*% who say religion shapes the way they __ a great deal/fair amount*

|  | Leftward Progressives | Loyal Liberals | Left-Out Left | Order & Opportunity Left | Tuned-Out Middle | Pragmatic & Polite Right | Unconventional Right | Faith First Conservatives | No Apologies Right | General public |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Treat other people | 27% | 38% | 45% | 65% | 64% | 74% | 53% | 83% | 67% | 59% |
| Think about morality | 26% | 33% | 43% | 57% | 59% | 69% | 51% | 82% | 67% | 56% |
| Vote | 14% | 14% | 12% | 20% | 30% | 29% | 19% | 53% | 34% | 25% |

Note: For full question wordings and distributions, refer to the detailed tables.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted May 5-11 and Nov. 17-30, 2025.

About eight-in-ten say religion does a great deal or fair amount to shape the way they:

- Treat other people (83%)

- Think about morality (82%)

And they are the only group in which half or more say religion shapes the way they vote (53%).

*Jump to the [detailed tables](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jF_J-rdaI6tAROKKMlTqKEz2eOIpTwlPpBOmrS9vWQw/edit?usp=sharing) to learn more about Faith First Conservatives and the other typology groups*.

---

**Next:** [Unconventional Right](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/06/10/unconventional-right.md)