SojoMail - The Christian voters we don't talk about

View this email in your browser By Betsy Shirley Editor in Chief, Sojourners According to the PRRI American Values Atlas, 13% of the U.S. population identifies as white evangelical Protestants. But here’s what surprised me: The percentage of the population who identify as white mainline Protestants? Also 13%.  Especially during election years, pollsters tend to obsess over the former—and have less interest in the latter. Hardly a day passes before I get a new poll or survey finding about how white evangelicals are (or aren’t) voting and what they do (and don’t) believe—though as my colleague Mitchell Atencio notes, some polling on evangelicals deserves scrutiny.   But while white evangelicals tend to attract headlines, Michael Woolf doesn’t want us to overlook the influence of mainline Protestants, especially in an election year. As he puts it: How mainline Protestants “handle this election will have ramifications for years to come.”   Woolf is no stranger to the pressure many mainline congregations are facing. As a mainline Protestant pastor himself, he knows decades of declining attendance and church closures are all too real. Yet he observes that these mainline Protestant anxieties—about declining membership, congregations that are losing political diversity—can prevent churches from living into what makes these diverse denominations distinctive and faithful. “The fact that our congregations contain diverse viewpoints doesn’t mean that we should shy away from using the gospel to critique political power,” he says.  Regardless of your religious identity, I encourage you to go vote if you haven’t already. And if you need something to read while we await the results, here are our picks:   ‘One simple question’: When a Christian heckler asked Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed an Islamophobic question, the candidate countered with a masterful response rooted in the Constitution and religious freedom.  A not-so-simple survey: The PRRI American Values Atlas is a respected source of data for religion news, but the phrasing of its question on empathy has news editor Mitchell Atencio puzzled.  Be not afraid? As a queer Catholic raised in purity culture, horror films help Emma Cieslik face the monsters she was taught to fear.  Hallow, it’s me: This weekend many churches will celebrate All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days, holy days that have less to do with heavenly harps and haloes—and more about the just future that’s coming.  ¡Presente!: Labor leader Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farmer Workers, died yesterday at age 96. She is credited with the movement’s slogan “Si, se puede.”   A case for saints: When preening billionaires are doing their best to dismantle everything from our electoral system to healthcare, Sojourners editor Julie Polter turns to the cloud of witnesses.  The Tough Midterms Choices Facing Mainline Protestants As a pastor, denominations like mine have seen better days. But this election season gives us an opportunity to lead responsibly and faithfully. Read the full article Advertisement Community Notes You never know who might find their way to a Sojourners story. After we published ‘Your Family Never Knew You Were a Painter’ in the latest issue of Sojourners magazine, we received this beautiful comment from a reader:  Michelle was my friend. When I visited at the “last CW” she’d show me her latest work of art and tell me its story. All of her works had a story. Michelle as a gift, gave me a painting. I was blest. We purchased two; one for a friend and one, Theresa’s favorite, hangs on our living room wall. When we’d leave, I would always slip her a twenty for cigarettes. Thanks, Kris, for your reminences. — Doug Cramer  As many of us prepare to observe All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days, who are you holding in remembrance? Let us know by hitting reply; we read every email you send our way.  Our Latest Stories Islamophobia Is a Threat to All Faiths. El-Sayed Shows How to Rebuke It (by Noah Berlatsky) Christian nationalism mutates religious freedom into a privilege reserved for a few. Read more Do White Evangelicals Oppose Empathy? This Poll Can’t Tell Us (by Mitchell Atencio) PRRI’s new survey got plenty of attention, but it broke cardinal rules of public opinion research. Read more Jesus Said ‘Fear Not.’ He Didn’t Say ‘Don’t Watch Scary Movies’ (by Emma Cieslik) For a queer Catholic raised in purity culture, horror films became a way to face the monsters I grew up with. Read more Learning To Love My Church’s Roll Call of the Dead (by Hannah Bowman) All Saints and All Souls used to irritate me. Why pray for people I don’t know? Read more Dolores Huerta, Labor and Civil Rights Leader, Dies at 96 (by Bill Trott, Reuters) Huerta was one of the foremost women in U.S. labor history, serving the UFW as chief negotiator, strike organizer, lobbyist, and reformer during its heyday in the 1960s and ‘70s in California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley. Read more From the Magazine: Why I Need the Communion of Saints (by Julie Polter) Now, when billionaires are commodifying and dismantling everything from our electoral system to protected forests—when human institutions are shoved from flawed to crumbling—I need belief in the communion of saints. Read more Advertisements Faith Overcomes Fear: Donate Today Authoritarianism relies on an exhausted, fearful public. But faith calls us to action. Give to Sojourners’ fall fundraising campaign to fuel investigative reporting and equip local churches with tools to defend democracy, protect vulnerable neighbors, and organize for justice. Make your tax-deductible gift by Friday, October 30th! How Stories Shape Justice Movements with Margaret Atwood How do stories help us recognize injustice and remain hopeful enough to act? Join Margaret Atwood and Sojourners president Adam Russell Taylor on November 11 at 1 pm ET for a live conversation about faith, power, resistance, and the stories that can move us toward a more just future. Donate Subscribe Copyright © 2026 Sojourners. All rights reserved. 611 Pennsylvania Ave SE #342, Washington, DC 20003 Email: sojourners@sojo.net | Tel.: 202.328.8842