Would you freak out if your daughter married a Trump voter?

Politics matters more than it used to.

Religion still matters.

My mother-in-law voted for Barack Obama. She was an immigrant from China, an escapee from Communism, and an evangelical Christian. She faced discrimination based on her race and being an immigrant, but religion trumped everything else for her, and she identified as a Republican since it was the more openly Christian party. She voted for both Bush presidents and John McCain, but not Mitt Romney. Romney was a Mormon. She thought Mormons were dangerous heretics. Better a Black Democrat than a Mormon.

The Pew Research Center polling shows that she was not alone. Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) are less popular than Muslims and atheists, measured by the number who are favorably inclined toward them compared to the number with unfavorable opinions. (My own experience with Mormons has been very positive.) 

There are curious things about this chart. Jews are generally well regarded, the best of any group, with a huge net-favorable status. Evangelical Christians stand out, too, as the group with the highest unfavorable number: 27%. That number is balanced by an equally-high number of people with a favorable opinion. Evangelical Christians are controversial, indeed more controversial than atheists and Muslims. 

A Monmouth poll asked a related set of questions. How would Americans feel about at son or daughter-in-law on a variety of characteristics -- college, an immigrant, a different race or faith?

Americans became accustomed to interracial marriage, something that was a big deal a generation ago and a criminal act in 16 southern states until 1967. Americans are slightly more comfortable with an in-law who is an atheist than with one who is a "born again" Christian. 

The factor with the greatest risk of disappointment is a family member who chooses to marry a Trump voter. That 48% of disappointed parents looks at all Americans including the near-half of American parents who are themselves Trump voters. Among Democratic parents, 60% would disapprove; 35% say they wouldn't care.  Republican parents are less bothered by the prospect of a child marrying a Biden supporter; only 46% would disapprove and 50% wouldn't care. 

Across the board, Independent votes have a higher "don't care" response to who a child marries, but more Independents (20%) say they would be happy with their child marrying a Trump supporter than the 10% who would be happy with a marriage to a Biden supporter. That contradicts the Biden narrative that Biden is the "normal" lowest-common-denominator candidate. He has negatives, too, and they are not matched by his positives.

Evangelical Christians have become a growing political force in America because they recognize the cultural trend moving against them. There are fewer regular churchgoers. Atheism has become acceptable. Evangelical Christians consider themselves to be under assault, and they are fighting back. They are the vanguard of the cultural counter-revolution, which has made them a political force, most visible in wedge issues such as abortion, LGBT rights, and religious expression of Christian faith in public places. They are attached to a populist leader and movement in ascendance. That gives them temporal power. It also makes them a target of opponents to that power.

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