By Wes Farno (Director of General Consulting)
My political involvement didn’t start in a campaign office; it began in a church pew at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Minster, Ohio. The faith that tells me people are made in God’s image also tells me that policy is about the stewardship of families, freedom, and the future we hand to our kids. This conviction doesn’t make me less practical; it makes me more so.
Religiously observant voters are, first, neighbors with bills and busy lives. The economy usually sits at the top of their priority list; wages, grocery prices, and the stability of local jobs are topics of everyday conversation. James Carville’s famous quote, “It’s the economy, stupid,” applied to everyone.
Whether one attends church or not, pocketbook pressures shape the rhythms of family and community. What distinguishes many faith-based voters isn’t a different set of issues but a different worldview. Moral intuitions about protecting life, strengthening families, and safeguarding the vulnerable act like a lens that clarifies what matters and heightens the sense that public choices carry moral weight. Oftentimes, there is a delineation between who is responsible for caring for those less fortunate. Most churchgoers will tell you it’s the church, not the state.
Congregations aren’t just places of worship; they’re civic infrastructure. Small groups, prayer vigils, meal trains, and men’s and women’s retreats build trust networks and foster a sense of belonging in a world many feel is coming undone. Additionally, these groups make up the fabric that holds individuals, families, and communities together when tragedy strikes.
From our political consultant’s perspective, it is essential to remember that people who serve together tend to vote together. Individuals and families engaged in churchgoing activities are more likely to volunteer, get neighbors to the polls, and show up because they see citizenship as a duty, not a hobby.
Many believers sense that faith is losing its standing in public life and worry about passing core values on to the next generation. Small groups increasingly discuss more than scripture; they wrestle with issues such as religious liberty, parental involvement in education, and the boundaries between conscience and the state. These aren’t abstract debates; they’re lived questions about how to raise kids, run a business, and practice faith without penalty.
This pattern has roots. In 1979, Jerry Falwell helped organize the Moral Majority, a movement that mobilized millions of evangelicals with church-based voter registration, mail programs, and a clear “family values” agenda. It helped power Ronald Reagan’s coalition and then gave way to the Christian Coalition in the 1990s. Over the last thirty years, religious politics have become increasingly professionalized and decentralized, shifting from national mailing lists to church text threads and Facebook groups, and from a few televised leaders to thousands of local influencers, pastors, lay leaders, and mothers who manage the school carpool.
During the same period, America experienced a rise in the number of the religiously unaffiliated (“nones”), while frequent churchgoers from many traditions continued to attend at above-average rates. The constant through all this change: regular worship attendance correlates with civic participation and organizing strength.
Significantly, religious voters’ views vary by tradition, race, region, and generation. Evangelicals, Protestants, Catholics, Latter-day Saints, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and the unaffiliated exhibit distinct patterns of moral emphasis and political alignment, and those patterns evolve. Within a single congregation, you’ll find differences shaped by age, class, and lived experience. If you’ve attended any church meetings, you know: the choir isn’t always singing one note.
Advice for candidates? Speak to conscience and competence without pretending. Religiously observant voters are motivated by duty, belonging, and moral clarity; however, they will spot a fake instantly. Candidates who acknowledge that connection of head, heart, and home, with sincerity, will earn attention. Show that you pair conviction with practical results, such as safer streets, stronger families, and honest budgets, and you’ll gain trust.
And in a campaign, and a congregation, trust is the currency that turns agreement into action and belief into participation.
