The religious gap between Republicans and Democrats is bigger than ever, with two-thirds of Kamala Harris voters “seldom” or “never” attending church, an analysis of a new study found.
The “God gap,” the difference in worship between the parties, was determined using data collected by the Cooperative Election Study, according to political scientist Ryan Burge.
The study found that by the 2024 election, a majority of Trump voters had attended a religious service at least yearly, with 43% of Republicans reporting at least monthly attendance at a religious service. (RELATED: Jimmy Kimmel Credits Donald Trump In Acceptance Speech)
In contrast, 44% of Harris voters reported “never” attending church, with another 21% reporting “seldom” attendance at religious services.
“For every Harris voter who attended church weekly in 2024, there were about four Harris voters who attended less than once a year,” Burge summarized. “If that’s not the God gap, I don’t know what is.”
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – NOVEMBER14: A man holds a protest sign in City Creek Park after many submitted their resignations from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in response to a recent change in church policy towards married LGBT same sex couples and their children on November 14, 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
However, Democrats and Republicans are both more removed from religious services than ever, according to the data.
Since 2008, the percentage of Republicans reporting at least yearly attendance at a religious service has dropped from 71% to 57%, with most of the difference attributed to an 11-point increase in those who “never” attend religious services and a 7-point decline in those who attend a religious service more than once a week.
“The other thing worth noting is that the share of Republican voters who attend weekly hasn’t really changed much; it’s the more-than-once-a-week people who have started to disappear,” Burge said, pointing out that Republicans are twice as likely to not go to church at present than in 2008.
Although GOP religiosity is at an all-time low, the “God gap” between the parties has never been greater.
In 2008, only 24% of Democrats “never” attended church, but that figure rose to 44% in 2024, with sharp declines in all other categories of religious service attendance.
Here’s the God Gap in one graph.
The share of Republicans who expressed an atheist/agnostic belief in God was 4% in 1988.
It was 4% in 2024.
For Democrats, that share went from 5% to 23% during the same time period. pic.twitter.com/z2IB5eTF9T
— Ryan Burge 📊 (@ryanburge) January 3, 2026
Burge also broke down the Cooperative Election Study’s reported religious makeup of the parties.
Since 2008, the Republican Party has seen a slight drop in support from mainline Christians, white Catholics and Latter-day Saints. During the same time frame, the party has gained increased support from white and nonwhite evangelicals, Black Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Jews, atheists, agnostics and those identifying as “nothing in particular.”
Burge found that 42% of Trump’s votes came from the evangelical community. There is no more important voting bloc in the country than evangelicals if you are Republican. It’s basically impossible to win any race without their support,” he wrote.
“The only other group that really registers much at all are the ‘nothing in particular’ people,” Burge continued, citing that category’s growth in GOP representation from 8% to 12%.
Atheists and agnostics now make up only 5% of all GOP voters, with approximately 80% of Trump voters being Christian.
“To be even more specific, 70% came from white Christians,” Burge said. “The GOP is the party of white Christianity.”
Since 2008, the Democratic Party has lost support from white evangelicals, mainline Christians and Catholics. The party has received a small increase in support from nonwhite evangelicals and Jews, with most of its growth coming from those who identify as religious “nones.” (RELATED: ‘Murder Masquerading As Medicine’: Senate Ignores Bill On CCP’s Christian Organ Harvesting)
Burge concluded that the only reason Democrats are not getting “blown out in every election” is due to their support from atheists, agnostics and those who identify as “nones.”
“The GOP vote is 80% Christian and 17% nonreligious. The Democratic vote is 48% Christian and 45% nonreligious,” Burge summarized the current “God Gap,” adding that future elections will go the way of whatever party can “build a slightly bigger coalition without alienating their base.”