What religion is Trump? The answer isn’t all that easy to pin down

During a White House event commemorating Easter 2026, televangelist Paula Whitecain, President Trump’s “spiritual advisor,” caused a stir when she compared the deeply divisive president to none other than Jesus Christ.

According to reports independent personWhitecain claimed that Trump, like Christ, had “paid the price” of being “betrayed, arrested and falsely accused,” and that Trump would “rise” and “win” through Christ’s resurrection.

Critics slammed the comments on social media, with many calling them “blasphemous.” Others questioned whether Donald Trump is religious at all, and if so, which sect of Christianity does he follow?

As the darling of the evangelical right, Donald Trump has always been happy to use the language of religion when it suits him. What kind of religion is it anyway? actually he? The answer has changed over the years.

For much of his career, Trump identified himself as a Presbyterian, a mainline Protestant Christian denomination.

However, he claims that as a child he attended First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, New York. Deseret News, He and his parents began attending Marble Collegiate Church in New York City in the 1970s and have remained in close contact with the organization over the years.

Marble Church was founded in 1628 and was initially affiliated with the Calvinist Dutch Reformed Church. Calvinism is a Protestant sect that began in the 16th century.

The Trumps were reportedly drawn to Marble Church as Norman Vincent Peale, a famous self-help book author. The power of positive thinkingserved as senior minister there until 1984.

Interestingly, the church’s LGBTQ+-welcoming approach, including performing same-sex marriage ceremonies and participating in the annual New York City Pride Parade, is at odds with President Trump’s repeated attacks on the gay community. The Republican candidate for Trump vs. Vance was incredibly negative towards the LGBTQ+ community during the campaign, consistently promoting anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.

So is Trump a Presbyterian or a Calvinist? No, actually neither.

In an interview with 2020 Religion News ServiceAt the time, President Trump said he no longer identified as a Presbyterian and described himself as a nondenominational Christian.

After claiming that his parents “taught me the importance of faith and prayer from an early age,” Trump went on to say, “Melania and I have been able to visit some great churches and meet with great faith leaders from around the world. During the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, I watched several virtual church services and know that millions of Americans have done the same.”

Although he has been close to many evangelical Christian leaders over the years, this was the first time he had spoken much about his faith. Famous and wealthy right-wing evangelicals Like Gary Bauer, president of American Values, and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.

The Family Research Council specified Anti-LGBTQ+ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and former police officer Tony Perkins has repeatedly claimed that LGBTQ+ people are more likely to be pedophiles.

In an interview with Religion News Service, President Trump also explained how Franklin Graham visited the Oval Office to pray for him during the pandemic. Then it was announced that a fervently anti-LGBTQ+ American pastor who has praised President Vladimir Putin’s anti-gay laws claimed that same-sex marriage was orchestrated by the devil. Calling transgender rights “evil”will file a summons in Washington, D.C., on January 20th.

It will be interesting to see what Trump’s former colleagues at the LGBTQ+-inclusive Marble Church think of his new compatriots. What kind of religion is Trump? Whatever suits his agenda best.