Abby McCloskey, Dallas Morning News, January 22, 2026

“The Democratic Party has become the political home of religious nones. The sorting of religion between parties has deep implications for our politics.

About 40% of Democrats are religiously unaffiliated, according to Pew Research. This means they identify as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” Controlling for race, the numbers are even more stark, as statistician Ryan Burge has well documented: Nearly three-quarters of white Democrats in 2024 seldom or never attended a religious service. Only 12% of white Democrats attended weekly. This stands in sharp contrast to the Republican Party voters, nearly 76% of whom identify as Christian.

Here in Texas, the religion gap between parties is narrower. That’s because our state is more religious than the national average. But there’s still a gap. . . “