By David Hood-Nuño, Julio-Cesar Chavez and Jason Lange
WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuters) - About half of evangelical Christians - a core component of President Donald Trump's political base - believe his administration's approach to the Iran war and immigration enforcement is not in line with their understanding of Christianity, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Evangelicals helped power the Republican's 2024 election victory, and Trump and his top officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have regularly
used religious language in describing their goals and policies. Republicans will be counting on them in the November midterm elections, when they will be defending thin majorities in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
Some 54% of evangelicals in the June 3-8 poll said Trump's use of the military in Iran was not in line with their understanding of Christianity, while 41% said it was in line with it. Some 51% of evangelicals said the administration's approach to immigration policy was not in line with Christian values, with 44% saying it was.
Overall, Trump's approval rating among evangelicals stood at 52% in the latest poll, down from 61% in August but well above his 35% approval rating among all U.S. adults.
His approval rating has broadly fallen in recent months as the unpopular Iran war pushed gasoline prices sharply higher.
During his first term in office, Trump helped to secure a longstanding goal of many evangelical Americans by installing a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, which then overturned a decision that had established a nationwide right to abortion.
In his second term, he has regularly invited faith leaders into the Oval Office and changed policies to allow federal employees to promote their religious views at work.
Evangelicals in particular skew Republican by more than two-to-one and Trump won the white evangelical vote 81%-16% in 2024, according to an exit poll analysis by the Pew Research Center.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Trump has delivered to people of faith by defending religious rights and pardoning anti-abortion activists convicted of crimes. "There has never been a greater president for Christian Americans than President Trump," Taylor said.
MIDTERMS APPROACHING
Cracks in the key voting bloc could add to the headwinds facing the Republican Party in the midterm elections.
Evangelical Christian Sandy Miller, 63, said she wouldn't vote for him again if she had the opportunity. She lives in Worthington, Indiana, a small town of roughly 1,400, and takes care of a 24-year-old daughter whose home-healthcare Medicaid benefits were cut under Trump.
But more than her financial situation, she said her faith influences who she votes for. She said that Trump is probably a Christian but doesn't show it.
"I just don't think waging war is the answer to everything all the time," Miller said. "I understand sometimes you have to, but I don't know in this instance that it needed to be done."
Miller said she prays every night that the country's leaders will seek God's will. "I wish our politicians would pray more than they talk," she said.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll surveyed 4,531 U.S. adults nationwide and its results had a margin of error of 2 percentage points in either direction.
Evangelicals also give Trump low marks on his handling of the cost of living.
The U.S. and Israel began the war in Iran on February 28 to ensure the Iranian government does not fully develop a nuclear weapon. Despite the war's impact on household finances, Trump has vowed to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons at any cost.
Thousands of people have died in the Iran war, including more than 3,000 in Iran alone, with rights groups putting the figure closer to 3,600, alongside over 1,800 deaths in Lebanon and more than 100 in Iraq, according to official and NGO sources.
Many evangelicals believe the U.S. has a moral obligation to protect Israel, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East.
Connie Reese, 77, an evangelical voter who lives in Iowa, said in a follow-up interview with Reuters that his support for Trump's war in Iran has biblical precedent, and that governments have the right to preemptively defend themselves. Although he said he doesn't always agree with the government of Israel, the Jewish people have "historical grounds for their homeland."
"The re-establishment of Israel, the country, is a prophetic answer or an answer to a prophecy that is clearly spelled out in the word of God," he said. "So in that regard, I support Israel as a free and sovereign nation."
(Reporting by David Hood-Nuño, Julio Cesar-Chavez and Jason Lange; editing by Scott Malone and Deepa Babington)
