Gregory A. Smith is associate director of research at Pew Research Center. He helps to coordinate the Center’s domestic polling on religion. Smith also writes reports and provides information to news media and others about religion and public opinion, religion and American politics, and the political views of Catholics. Smith holds a doctorate in government from the University of Virginia, where he was a fellow at the Center on Religion and Democracy. He is an author of the 2007 and 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Studies, the 2010 U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey, the 2007 and 2011 Pew Research Center surveys of Muslim Americans, the 2012 Mormons in America report and the 2012 report “Nones” on the Rise. He also wrote Politics in the Parish: The Political Influence of Catholic Priests (Georgetown University Press, 2008). Smith has been interviewed as an analyst by a variety of broadcast media, including ABC, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, MSNBC and NPR, and by The New York Times, The Washington Post and USA Today, among other print media.
Gregory A. Smith
Expertise:
Twitter: gregsmith_polls
Publications
White Christians continue to favor Trump over Biden, but support has slipped
President Trump continues to be White Christians’ preferred candidate, but support among voters in three traditions has slipped since August.
8 facts about Catholics and politics in the U.S.
Around half of Catholic registered voters describe themselves as Republicans, while 47% identify with the Democratic Party.
White evangelical approval of Trump slips, but eight-in-ten say they would vote for him
Trump’s approval rating has dropped among a range of religious groups, including white evangelicals – though they remain strongly supportive.
White evangelicals among groups with slipping confidence in Trump’s handling of COVID-19
White evangelical Protestants are slightly less positive about the president's response to the coronavirus pandemic now than in March.
Most white evangelicals satisfied with Trump’s initial response to the COVID-19 outbreak
77% of white evangelicals say they are at least somewhat confident that the president is doing a good job responding to the outbreak.
About a third in U.S. see God's hand in presidential elections, but fewer say God picks winners based on policies
Few United States adults – just 5% – say God chose Donald Trump to be president because God approves of his policies.
Among Democrats, Christians lean toward Biden, while ‘nones’ prefer Sanders
Early indications are that candidate preferences by religion will be familiar in November – and closely linked to each group’s party leanings.
Just one-third of U.S. Catholics agree with their church that Eucharist is body, blood of Christ
Just 31% of U.S. Catholics believe that the bread and wine used in Communion become the body and blood of Christ. Nearly seven-in-ten say the Eucharist is symbolic.
U.S. Jews are more likely than Christians to say Trump favors the Israelis too much
While U.S. Jews have a strong attachment to Israel, they are divided in their assessment of Trump’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Evangelical approval of Trump remains high, but other religious groups are less supportive
Roughly seven-in-ten white evangelical Protestants approve of Trump's presidential job performance. Other religious groups are more divided.
