Does Donald Trump have a God problem?

Can Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump position
himself as the candidate of the evangelical right?
It would seem to be a bit of a challenge.
The New York billionaire said he doesn't know if he's ever
asked God for forgiveness and referred to a communion
wafer as "my little cracker" during a religious-affiliated
presidential forum in Iowa. He won't cite a favourite Bible
verse. He's been married three times. He was once
avowedly pro-choice on abortion. And when an interviewer
recently asked him about God, he spent more time talking
about an oceanfront real-estate deal.
It's a far cry from the more detailed profession of faith
made by competing candidates like retired neurosurgeon
Ben Carson, former Arkansas Governor (and Southern
Baptist minister) Mike Huckabee and Texas Senator Ted
Cruz.
Even former Florida Governor Jeb Bush - a no-show at
Friday's event - speaks openly of his adult conversion to
Roman Catholicism.
And yet there was Donald Trump, childhood Bible in hand,
making a play for the support of right-wing religious
activists at the Family Research Council's Values Voter
Summit in Washington DC on Friday.
"I brought my Bible," he said, noting it was from the First
Presbyterian Church in New York City and pointing to an
inscription on the inside cover. "This was written by my
mother, with my name, with my address, with everything."
It took him a while to get back to religion in his speech - he
first felt obliged to take swipes at departing House Speaker
John Boehner (for which he was cheered) and fellow
candidate Marco Rubio (for which he was booed), but he
eventually tried to speak his audience's language.
"I believe in God," he told the crowd of over a thousand. "I
believe in the Bible. I'm a Christian."
He followed it up by taking a firm stand in favour of
Christmas.
"I love Christmas. You go to stores now, you don't see the
word 'Christmas'," he said. "Remember the expression
'Merry Christmas'? You don't see it anymore. You're going
to see it if I get elected, I can tell you right now."
And that was mostly it - the sum total of his appeal to his
audience's evangelism in his nearly 30 minute address.
Many in the crowd weren't buying it.
"Only God knows his true relationship with God, but as the
Bible says, 'you will know them by their fruit'," says Pam
Orebaugh of Liberty Lake, Washington. "He's not a bad
person, but he's definitely not one championing and being
very verbal about being a Christian, religious freedom,
being pro-life."
"Where was he 10 years ago?" she asks.
Damon Boyle of Eldersburg, Maryland, calls Mr Trump
"very entertaining", but it would take more than that to
win his support.
"He's an excellent businessman. He's an excellent
executive," he says. "But in terms of a Christian, what has
the man done?"
These sentiments were backed up by a straw poll of Values
Voter Summit attendees released on Saturday, which put
Mr Trump in fifth place with 5% - well behind Mr Cruz, who
garnered 35%.
Mr Trump likes to boast that national opinion polls show him
with strong backing from religious voters. A recent Fox News
Survey had the New Yorker in first place among white
evangelicals with 29%.
A Gallup poll from mid-September, however, found
evidence of weakness in Mr Trump's support. He had a net
favourability rating of 22% among "highly religious"
voters, putting him 12th- well behind Mr Carson (56%), Mr
Huckabee (49%) and Mr Rubio (49%).
"No sign here of any special appeal on the part of Trump to
highly religious Republicans," writes Gallup's Frank
Newport.
So does Donald Trump have a God problem?
White evangelicals made up 57% of the electorate in
Republican Iowa Caucuses in 2012 and were essential to the
former Senator Rick Santorum's surprise victory there.
They're also a key voting bloc in the eight Southern states
that are joining together to hold their primaries on 1
March 2016.
For a while, it appeared that Mr Trump was going to give
the Values Voter Summit a pass, prompting Family Research
Council President Tony Perkins to question his commitment
to religious voters.
"I think that is going to send a message to evangelicals and
values voters that he wants their support, but he is not
really interested in having a conversation with them," Mr
Perkins told the Christian Post.
When Mr Trump changed his plans, Mr Perkins changed his
tune.
"It is part of beginning a conversation if he wants to build
a relationship with evangelicals," Mr Perkins said in a
Washington Times interview, adding that a fifth-place
showing in the straw poll "is actually pretty good".
Mr Trump may not be a natural fit for this Republican
constituency, but it appears he's not going to cede these
voters to another candidate without a fight.