When someone is running to be president of the United States, their chances of being elected can be widely influenced by their religious affiliation. For example, there are many people who believe that the religious affiliation of the president of the United States can impact their vision of society and how they want to leave the country. For example, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and William Howard Taft were speculated to be atheists. Even though this was never proven, it was a prominent talking point as they were campaigning for president of the United States. Other presidents, such as Jimmy Carter, used their faith as a defining aspect of their campaign and their time in office. Even though Jimmy Carter is widely considered to be one of the greatest men to ever lead the country, his track record as president of the United States is poor.
John F Kennedy was the very first president of the United States to be Catholic and hold the office. Even though he only served as president for two years, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States. That being said, there were a lot of people who were concerned that his Catholicism would be a significant problem. For example, many people were concerned that the pope would be the de facto president of the United States if John F Kennedy were to be elected. Ultimately, that was not the case. Since then, the only other Catholic President is the current one, Joe Biden. When Joe Biden was running for president, his religious affiliation was not viewed as a problem.
During colonial times, the most common religious affiliation was that of deism. It is a religious philosophy that the vast majority of the founding fathers followed, and it was spoken of highly by Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine was one of the greatest authors in the history of colonial America. Benjamin Franklin also spoke about deism in his autobiography, even though he never served as president of the United States. George Washington, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, John Tyler, and James Monroe all have been identified as having believed in what could be described as deism.
In the modern era, a lot of people are concerned about the religious backgrounds of presidents of the United States because of the issue of abortion. It is a significant flashpoint in the current state of the country, and some people are concerned that presidents who are too religious might not be in favor of abortion. Polls have consistently shown that the vast majority of people in the United States are in favor of a woman's right to choose. Therefore, the religious stances of future presidents of the United States will be examined from this perspective.