Ahead of this year’s presidential election, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) measures the relationship between religion and partisanship among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). Considered “the fastest-growing group of eligible voters in the United States,” the analysis also provides insight into these groups’ views of presidential candidates by religion, gender and educational attainment. 

Last year, 37% of AAPI Americans considered themselves Christian (20%, Protestant; 16%, Catholic; less than 1%, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Latter-day Saints). This percentage has largely remained unchanged since 2013 (35%). The lowest reported percentage was 30% in 2017 and the highest number of AAPI Americans who identified as Christian was 41% in 2022.

Nearly a third (28%) of AAPI Americans (28%) are not Christians. These include Hindu (14%), Buddhist (7%), Muslim (4%) and members of other non-Christian religions (2%). 

Nearly one in four (38%) AAPI Americans say they are Democrats, a decrease of 6 percentage points from 2013. Thirty-five percent of AAPI Americans identify as Independent, down from 43% in 2013. The number of AAPI Americans who say they are Republican has slightly increased from 12% in 2013 to 17% in 2023.

Fifty-three percent of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans have a favorable view of Joe Biden. There is a near-even split between AAPI men (54%) and AAPI women (52%).

AAPI Americans with a college degree are more likely to have a favorable view of Joe Biden (61%) compared to those who don’t have a college degree (38%). Sixty- three percent of religiously unaffiliated AAPI Americans have a favorable view of Biden. On the other hand, 52% of non-Christian AAPI Americans and 43% of AAPI Christians view him favorably.

On the issues, PRRI found: “Nearly four in ten Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders say they would only vote for a candidate who shares their views on access to guns (39%) or abortion (38%), compared with around three in ten who say they would vote based on a candidate’s stance on climate change (32%), immigration (28%), and LGBTQ rights (28%). Interestingly, although an equal percentage of AAPI Americans say they would vote for a candidate based on their stance on immigration and LGBTQ rights (both 28%), more AAPI Americans say they consider a candidate’s position on immigration as one of many important factors (60%) than say the same about LGBTQ rights (43%).”

The report also found while most AAPI Americans hold an unfavorable view of Donald Trump, most Christian APPI Americans with a high school education are less likely to support Joe Biden. The highest AAPI support for a Democratic candidate in recent elections was for the re-election of Barack Obama in