94 Percent of Evangelicals Want a President Who ‘Stands up for’ Their Beliefs, Pew Shows

White evangelicals are the most likely subgroup to say it is at least somewhat important to have a president who lives a moral life, while black Protestants are the most likely to say it is “very important,” according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

White evangelicals and black Protestants are also among the most likely to say it’s important to have a president who “stands up for people with your religious beliefs.”

The survey was conducted in February among 6,395 U.S. adults and highlighted April 16 in a Pew Fact Tank analysis. 

“The character of the person who occupies the Oval Office matters to the vast majority of Americans,” Pew’s Jeff Diamant wrote. “Across party lines and religious groups, roughly nine-in-ten or more say it is either somewhat or very important to have a president who lives a moral, ethical life.”

All total, 94 percent of U.S. adults say it is important to have a president who “lives a moral, ethical life,” with 63 percent saying it’s very important and 31 percent somewhat important. That’s in line with white evangelicals (97 percent – 63 very/34 somewhat), Catholics (93 percent – 62 very/31 somewhat) and Jewish Americans (91 percent – 66 very/25 somewhat. A total of 93 percent of black Protestant church members say it is important, with 73 percent – the highest in the survey on this question – saying…