Most evangelicals ready to vote for Trump
Most evangelicals are planning to vote for Donald Trump on election day in November.
According to polling by LifeWay Research, nine in 10 evangelicals are registered to vote and there's little doubt who they'll be casting their ballots for.
The survey, conducted between September 9 and 23, reveals that among evangelical voters, Trump has a significant lead over his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
Some 61% of evangelicals surveyed by LifeWay said they are planning to vote for Trump, compared to less than a third (29%) who will choose Biden at the ballot box.
Only 8% of evangelicals said they were still undecided about who to give their vote.
Evangelical support for Trump stands in stark contrast to the preferences of Americans who do not have evangelical beliefs, who overwhelmingly support Biden.
Over half (56%) of non-evangelical Americans said they were planning to vote for Biden in November, compared to only a third who are going to vote for Trump.
"Voting for or against an incumbent president is a more certain situation for voters," said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research.
"Fewer Americans, including those with evangelical beliefs, are on the fence than at this same point in 2016."
But the survey reveals big divisions when it comes to race, with 73% of white evangelicals supporting Trump against 58% of African American evangelicals.
"Different ethnic groups are more attuned to specific failures of our country and of specific candidates," said McConnell.
"One's ethnicity and political party are more powerful in predicting the vote of someone with evangelical beliefs than their shared religious convictions alone."
A separate poll by Barna shows nearly three-quarters (74%) of Protestant pastors are concerned about the impact the election could have on their church.
Of the 475 pastors polled earlier this month, a third said they planned to address the elections in their sermons.