For years, he identified as a mainline Protestant, attending Marble Collegiate Church in New York, where he was deeply influenced by Norman Vincent Peale’s philosophy of positive thinking. However, in a 2020 interview with Religion News Service, Trump revealed a shift in his religious identity.
“Though I was confirmed at a Presbyterian church as a child, I now consider myself to be a nondenominational Christian,” he said. He attributed this change to his and First Lady Melania Trump’s exposure to a wide range of churches and spiritual leaders, along with participating in online services during the pandemic.
Despite not being Catholic, Trump has increasingly embraced public religious rhetoric, especially in recent years. His messaging around faith intensified following a failed assassination attempt at a campaign rally. Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast in February, Trump said, “God was watching me,” and emphasized the growing importance of religion in public life. “We have to make religion a much more important factor now,” he added. “It unifies people.”
In line with this emphasis, Trump signed an executive order in February creating a White House Faith Office, aimed at addressing what he described as “anti-Christian bias” within the federal government. Evangelical pastor Paula White, a longtime spiritual adviser, continues to play a prominent role in his faith initiatives and previously led the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative during his presidency.
Though his faith has evolved over time, Trump’s current religious identity as a nondenominational Christian reflects a broader, more flexible form of Protestantism—aligned with one of the fastest-growing segments in American Christianity.