Democrats more likely than Republicans to say it's vvery important to have a moral, ethical president % of U.S. adults who say it is very or somewhat important to them to have a U.S. president who
The character of the person who occupies the Oval Office matters to the vast majority of Americans. Across party lines and religious groups, roughly nine-in-ten or more say it is either somewhat or very important to have a president who lives a moral, ethical life. But Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party are more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to say it is “very” important (71% vs. 53%), according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.
Fewer Americans (52%) say it’s either somewhat (32%) or very (20%) important for a president to have strong religious beliefs, even if those beliefs are different from their own. But Republicans place more of a premium on having a president who is religious: About two-thirds of Republicans (65%) say this trait is at least somewhat important, compared with four-in-ten Democrats who say this (41%).
Generally speaking, when it comes to traits that are important for a president to have, Americans care less about having a president who shares their religious beliefs than they do about having one who stands up for their religious beliefs. Four-in-ten U.S. adults (39%) say it’s at least somewhat important for a president to share their religious beliefs – though Republicans (53%) are about twice as likely as Democrats (27%) to say that this matters.
Democrats more likely than Republicans to say it's vvery important  | to have a moral, ethical president  | % of U.S. adults who say it is very or somewhat important to them to have a U.S. president who  | has strong  | religious beliefs  | personally  | stands up for  | (even if they  | lives a moral,  | people with your  | are different  | shares your  | ethical life  | religious beliefs  | religious beliefs  | from your own)  | Very Somewhat  | Very  | Somewhat  | Very Somewhat  | Very Somewhat  | All U.S adults  | 63%  | 31%  | 38%  | 31%  | 20% 32%  | 14 25%  | 53  | 41  | 20  | Republican/lean Rep.  | 40  | 47  | 32  | 24  | 33  | Democratic/lean Dem  | 71  | 24  | 30  | 30  | 16 25  | 18  | Source: Survey conducted Feb. 4-15, 2020, among U.S. adults  | "White Evangelicals See Trump as Fighting for Their Beliefs, Though Many Have Mixed Feelings About His Personal Conduct"  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 