(August 27, 2024 / JNS)

Among the large differences between supporters of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Joe Biden are gulfs in religious and foreign policy values, according to a new analysis from the Pew Research Center.

Asked whether Washington should take the interests of allies into account “even if it means making compromises with them,” 79% of Harris supporters and 40% of Trump supporters said it ought to do so. Subscribe to The JNS Daily Syndicate by email and never miss our top storiesFree sign upBy signing up, you agree to receive emails from JNS and allied pro-Israel organizations.

A much larger percentage of Trump supporters (76%) than Harris supporters (55%) said that “U.S. policies should try to keep it so America is the only military superpower,” with 42% of Harris supporters, and just 22% of Trump supporters, saying that “it would be acceptable if another country became as militarily powerful as the U.S.”

The Pew analysis was based on two surveys—held between April 8 and Aug. 14, and Aug. 5 and Aug. 11—of 4,527 registered voters.

An overwhelming majority (83%) of Trump supporters and 68% of Harris supporters said that a strong U.S. military makes the world safer. A quarter of Harris supporters said that a strong U.S. military has no impact on how safe the world is.

There was also a wide divide on the degree to which the United States ought to engage actively in world affairs. One in five Trump supporters and 33% of Harris supporters said that was “extremely important.” Some 53% of Trump supporters and 71% of Harris supporters said it was at least “very important” for Washington to engage actively on a global scale.

Just 7% of Trump supporters and 4% of Harris supporters said doing so wasn’t too important, or important at all.

Trump supporters favored smaller government by a wide margin (84%) over Harris supporters (22%). Harris supporters were much likelier (87%) than Trump supporters (55%) to say that “religion should be kept separate from government policies.” Nearly half (45%) of Trump supporters and just 13% of Harris supporters agreed that “government policies should support religious values and beliefs.”

More Trump supporters (46%)  than Harris supporters (22%) said that belief in God is a prerequisite “to be moral and have good values,” per the Pew analysis.

Trump and Harris supporters also have very different family values.

Some 60% of Trump supporters and just 17% of Harris supporters said that “society is better off if people make marriage and having children a priority,” while 81% of Harris supporters and 39% of Trump supporters said that “society is just as well off if people have priorities other than marriage and children.”