READING, Pa. (AP) — Religion and politics often overlap in Reading, an old industrial city in one of the most crucial battleground states in this year’s presidential election.
There’s precedent for this in Pennsylvania, which began as a refuge for Quakers and other European religious minorities fleeing persecution, including the parents of national hero Daniel Boone, who was born just a few miles from what is now the majority-Latino city of Reading.
Now with a Catholic mayor who is also an immigrant and the first Latino to hold that office in Reading’s 276-year history, Mayor Eddie Moran is keenly aware that Pennsylvania plays a pivotal role in this crucial race, where thousands of votes from communities like his could determine the future of the United States.
“Right now, with the Latino population growing and the influx of Latinos into cities like Redding, there’s no question that the Latino vote is an opportunity to change the outcome of the election,” Moran said. “It’s no longer a secret.”
Spirituality and the Latino Community
In Reading, crosses atop church steeples dot the sky; Catholic churches fill their pews and many stand for services on Sundays; elsewhere, evangelical and Pentecostal congregations gather in nondescript buildings to sing, pray and sometimes speak in tongues.
Outside, salsa, merengue and reggaeton music — often sung in Spanish — blares from cars and homes along the streets first mapped by William Penn’s sons and now a bustling downtown lined with proudly Latino-owned restaurants.
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When told that 65 percent of the town’s residents are Latino, the town’s mayor proudly replies, “Actually, it’s more like 70 percent.”
They believe in political influence. Pew Research Center survey The survey found that 8 in 10 Latino voters say their vote can make a difference.
Last Sunday, Puerto Rican-born Luis Hernandez, 65, knelt in prayer near the altar of St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church and then, as he left after Mass, said he would vote for Trump, even on the very day that former President Trump was convicted in connection with hush payments to porn stars.
“Biden is old,” Hernandez said, noting that Trump is only a few years younger. “Yeah, but you look at Trump and you see the difference. … Biden is a good guy. He’s polite. But he’s too old.”
Weeks after Biden’s speech, even more Americans joined calls for him to drop out of the race after a debate gaffe that crystallized growing concerns that at 81, he was too old to run.
Immigration is at the center of people’s conversation
It’s not just about Biden’s age or his performance in the debates. Hernandez says it’s also about the border crisis. There are too many immigrants in the U.S., he says, some of whom he sees as criminals. He adds that a lot has changed since his Dominican-born father came to the U.S. in the 1960s. It was easier to get into and stay in the U.S. back then, Hernandez says.
For some, there are other issues too.
“It’s the economy, immigration and abortion,” said German Vega, 41, a Dominican-American who became a U.S. citizen in 2015. A self-described “pro-life” voter, Vega voted for Trump in 2020 and plans to vote again in November.
“Biden doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. And the country is divided,” Vega said. Trump is “a man of character. He’s confident. He never gives up and he always fights for what he believes in.”
Of course, there are people here who don’t want to take sides — except for Jesus. Listen to Puerto Rican pastor Alex Lopez, who cuts hair in the barber shop downstairs of his home on Saturdays and preaches upstairs on Sundays.
“We’re neutral,” he says. “We just believe in God.”
A city with deep industrial roots is revived
Reading was once synonymous with the iron and steel industries, which helped solidify the creation of the Reading Railroad (an early stop on the Monopoly game board) and helped drive the Industrial Revolution, becoming one of the nation’s largest corporations in the late 19th century.
Today, this city of about 95,000 people 65 miles northwest of Philadelphia is booming again. According to U.S. census figures, 67% of Reading’s population is Latino, with large concentrations of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans, as well as Colombians and Mexicans who run restaurants and other businesses in the city.
Political candidates are taking note of Reading’s economic and political strength: Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election was decided by about 82,000 votes, but the state has more than 600,000 Latino voters, according to the Pew Research Center.
Reading remains heavily Democratic, to be sure, but the Trump campaign is eager to turn things around, having recently partnered with the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. “Latinos Support Trump” office opens in a red brick building near the Democratic mayor’s downtown office.
Moran urged Biden and other Democrats to pay attention to and visit Redding before the election. “This is so important,” he said.
“I still think Democrats have the upper hand,” he said, “but the candidates need to come out and really explain that to the community.”
Moran said one development is that religious leaders are becoming less hesitant to get involved in politics.
“Things are changing for the church too,” he said. “Clergy are recognizing the importance of their role as faith-based and religious leaders, and they are calling for action through their congregations.”
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A few blocks from St. Peter’s, crowds flock to the First Baptist Church, built in the late 19th century.
In a sign of Redding’s changing demographics, its aging and dwindling white Protestant congregation donated the building to Iglesia Jesu Cristo Es el Rey (Jesus Christ is King Church), a vibrant Latino congregation of about 100 members that has shared the building with First Baptist Church for nearly a decade.
Puerto Rican pastor Carol Pagan and her husband, Jose, recently led a prayer. At the end of the service, the pastors took to the microphone to urge their parishioners to vote in the election, regardless of who they choose for president.
“The right to vote is a civic responsibility,” said Carol Pagan, joined by her husband.
After the service, worshippers descend into the basement and share a traditional meal of chicken, rice and beans.
“I think the principles of human rights are relevant to both parties, or whichever party is running,” Carol Pagan said. “I always think about seniors, the health care system, health insurance. It shouldn’t be about capitalism, it should be about the right of all of us to be healthy.”
Both Pagans have said they will not vote for Trump, and, like others, they hope that if Biden were to drop out they would be able to support another Democratic candidate.
“It’s our duty to protect that person in prayer, whether they’re a Democrat or a Republican,” Carol Pagan said. “We owe it to them.”
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Associated Press religion coverage is supported by The Associated Press collaboration It is funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc. in collaboration with The Conversation US. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
