Religion and the 2026 Midterms: Polarization and Pursuing the Common Good

Image of a roll of I Voted stickers sandwiched between a wooden rosary and a wooden cross

A Panel Discussion withÌý

David Crary, Associated Press
Melissa Deckman,
ÌýPublic Religion Research Institute (PRRI)
Michele Dunne,
Franciscan Action Network

Moderated by:ÌýDavid T. Buckley, Boisi Center Director

Date:ÌýTuesday, October 27, 2026

Time:Ìý5 - 6:30pm
Location:ÌýGasson Hall 100

What’s new about religion’s role on the 2026 campaign trail? And what can this election teach us about faith’s future in America’s divided democracy? Join a distinguished panel for insights drawn from polling, journalism, and grassroots practitioners organizing parishes to strengthen elections.Ìý

headshot of David Crary

David Crary has been a reporter, editor and bureau chief with The Associated Press since 1976. Since mid-2021, he has been news director of AP's Global Religion Team. Crary joined the AP in Mississippi, later worked in Colorado and on the AP's international desk in New York, then covered East Africa and Southern Africa from 1985-1990 from bases in Kenya and South Africa. His assignments in Africa included the Ethiopian famine, the uprising against apartheid and Nelson Mandela's release from prison. From 1990-95, he was news editor at AP's Paris bureau, while serving eight stints in Sarajevo covering the war in Bosnia. He was named bureau chief in Toronto in 1995 and transferred to New York in 1999, where for 22 years he was a national writer primarily covering volatile social issues such as abortion, LGBTQ rights, and child welfare.Ìý

headshot of Melissa Deckman

Melissa Deckman is CEO of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and a nationally recognized political scientist whose work examines how gender, religion, and age shape Americans' political attitudes and behavior.Ìý

Deckman is the author of The Politics of Gen Z, which tells the story ofÌýhow America's youngest generation is engaging with politics, and the deepening gender divide reshaping its views. She also wrote Tea Party Women, which explores the role of women in conservative politics. Her first book, School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics, won the American Political Science Association's Hubert Morken Award for the best book on religion and politics.Ìý

A sought-after expert, Deckman has shared her research and commentary in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Politico, The Hill, Axios, and Newsweek, among other outlets. She also writes regularly for PRRI's Substack. Before becoming PRRI's CEO, she was the Louis L. Goldstein Professor of Public Affairs at Washington College.Ìý

Deckman earned her Ph.D. in political science from American University and her bachelor's degree in political science from St. Mary's College of Maryland.Ìý

headshot of Michele Dunne

Michele Dunne OFS is a professed Secular Franciscan and is the executive director of the Franciscan Action Network (FAN). Before coming to FAN, her career focused on the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy. From 2006 until 2021, she headed programs focused on peace, human rights, and democracy in the Middle East at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Atlantic Council. Before that, she served for nearly 20 years in the U.S. Department of State, including assignments in Jerusalem and Cairo. She holds a Ph.D. from Georgetown University and lives in Washington DC with her husband.

Antisemitism and Islamophobia on the Campaign Trail

Crary, David. “Muslim Americans Push Back as Republican Politicians Stoke Anti-Sharia Rhetoric Ahead of Election.� AP News, September 25, 2026.

Crary, David. “Anti-Defamation League Says Anger at Israel Is Now the Driving Force Behind Antisemitism in the US.� The Associated Press, April 24, 2025.

Lajevardi, Nazita, Kassra Oskooii, Muniba Saleem, and Meagan Docherty. “In the Shadow of September 11: The Roots and Ramifications of Anti-Muslim Attitudes in the United States.â€� Political Psychology 45, suppl. 1 (2024): 87–118.Ìý

Lewis, Jacob S. “Conspiracy and Antisemitism in Contemporary Political Attitudes.� Political Research Quarterly 78, no. 2 (2025): 619–34.

Mohamed, Besheer. “25 Years After 9/11, a Portrait of Muslim Americans.â€� Pew Research Center, September 3, 2026.Ìý

Religion and Voting in the United States

Campbell, David E., Geoffrey C. Layman, John C. Green, and Nathanael G. Sumaktoyo. “Putting Politics First: The Impact of Politics on American Religious and Secular Orientations.â€� American Journal of Political Science 62, no. 3 (2018): 551-65.ÌýÌý

Deckman, Melissa. “The Role of White Christian Women Voters in the 2026 Midterms.� PRRI’s Substack, September 3, 2026.

Deckman, Melissa. “The Political State of Generation Z.� PRRI’s Substack, October 30, 2025.

Layman, Geoffrey C., David E. Campbell, and Levi G. Allen. “The Secular Voter: Secularism and Political Attitudes in the United States.â€� Political Psychology 46, suppl. 1 (2025): 105–44.Ìý

Smith, Gregory A. “Religious Groups Differ Widely in Their 2026 Midterm Preferences.â€� Pew Research Center, October 13, 2026.Ìý.

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Whitehead, Andrew L. “Christian Nationalism and the State of American Democracy in 2026.� Kettering Foundation, October 2, 2026. https://kettering.org/christian-nationalism-and-the-state-of-american-democracy-in-2026/.

Religion and Strengthening Electoral Institutions

Atencio, Mitchell. "'We’d Rather Be Prepared': Faith Leaders Organize Ahead of Tense Midterms." Sojourners, September 30, 2026.Ìý

Buckley, David, Vasu Mohan, and Scott Bledsoe. Sacred Ballots: Engaging with Religious Actors in the Electoral Cycle. White paper. Arlington, VA: International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), June 23, 2023.

Copeland, Stephen. "A Diplomat’s Journey to Activism." St. Anthony Messenger, November/December 2025.

Franciscan Action Network. "Faith in Democracy." Accessed October 19, 2026. .

Interfaith America. "Faith in Elections Playbook." Updated 2026. .

Stephan, Maria J. "How Catholics Have Defended Free Elections—and Why They Must Do So Again." America Magazine, July 27, 2026.

Religion is one of the central forces shaping the 2026 midterm elections.. shows religious groups dividing in their House preferences: white evangelicals and white Catholics favor Republicans, while Black Protestants, Hispanic Catholics, and unaffiliated voters favor Democrats. Across groups, voters share concerns about the economy and the state of U.S. democracy.

Those differences are playing out on the campaign trail. In Texas, evangelical Ken Paxton and Presbyterian seminarian James Talarico are both Christian, but appeal to voters through different visions of Christianity. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed is making his Muslim faith visible in his campaign, saying in a recent ad that he prays every day and that “we need a few more people of faith in Washington.â€� , El-Sayed was asked to disavow the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement founded in Egypt. El-Sayed said he would, but then challenged the assumption that being Muslim puts his loyalty to the Constitution in doubt.Ìý

On election day itself, religious leaders are mobilizing to strengthen the electoral process. On October 8, 2026, reported on Catholic involvement in the Faiths United to Save Democracy (FUSD) coalition, a national alliance of faith organizations united to use faith to organize peaceful accompaniment at polling places. In 2026, FUSD has hosted virtual training workshops for over one-thousand multi-religious poll chaplains in ‘swing’ states ahead of the November midterm elections. FUSD includes Fransiscan Action Network (FAN), a Fransican social action group led by Michele Dunne, OFS. FUSD’s coalition includes 321 volunteers associated with the Fransiscan Action Network, whose friars, sisters, and lay members resolve to support “free, fair, peaceful elections [which] allow for the peaceful resolution of differences.â€� Outside of polling places, FUSD’s trainees are encouraged to don their clerical garb to convey peace and reassurance to voters amid concern over partisan confrontations, immigration enforcement operations, and conflicts with election officials at polling sites. The FUSD project comes as the discourse surrounding American elections has been increasingly centered on gerrymandering and the propagation of obstacles to voting access across the nation. As the story from EWTN News, Archbishop Edward Weisenburger of Detroit articulated that in fraught times, Catholics have an obligation to act as stewards of democracy, “Democracy can be a vehicle for Godʼs care for the human family, but it requires a state that understands its limitations and is not overreaching in its responsibility to create public good order.â€�Ìý

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