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From the beginning of the Trump Presidency, Evangelicals have been his strongest supporters. About 75% of self-proclaimed white evangelicals voted for Trump in both 2016 and 2020. How do we explain this? How do people who proclaim they are followers of Jesus Christ support an irreligious bigot, whose idea of the Golden Rule is “Whoever has the gold, rules”?
Just who are these Evangelicals? The Barna Research Group has studied American Christianity extensively since 1984. One of their main contributions has been to carefully define “Evangelism” and to determine what part of the Christian Church can be legitimately called “Evangelical.” Barna’s definition of an “Evangelical” is someone for whom the following is true:
- they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today
- believe that when they die, they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.
- maintain that faith is very important in their life today
- believe they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians
- believe that Satan exists
- believe that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works
- believe that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth
- believe that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today.
The Barma Group has found that while 38% of Americans describe themselves as evangelical, only 8% meet the more rigid nine-point criteria listed above. Of this narrower group, 79% supported Trump in 2016, while only 18% supported Clinton.
It should be noted, that according to Pew Foundation data, white evangelicals have been becoming more Republican for two decades, long pre-dating Donald Trump. In fact, at the end of the twentieth century, the political party split among white evangelicals was 60-40 Republicans; today it is closer tom 80-20.
Not only have Evangelicals supported Republicans as a group, but evangelical leaders have also been strong and vocal supporters of Donald Trump. Among these leaders are Ralph Reed, president of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, Franklin Graham, the son of the most important American Christian leader of the 20th century, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, George Wood, chairman of the Assemblies of God, Tommy Barnett, pastor, Dream City Church, James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, Jerry Falwell, Jr., disgraced President of Liberty University, Greg Laurie, Senior Pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship and Eric Metaxas, author and radio show host.
Many have supported Trump’s “big lie.” And many have become hyperbolic in their expression of fear were Trump not re-elected. For example, James Dobson wrote in his newsletter, “What began as a justified and lawful protest in response to George Floyd’s senseless murder by a rogue police officer has morphed into violence for the sake of violence. Hatred flows in the streets, including vitriol directed at the President of the United States or anyone who dares to support him or his policies. Constitutional rights to freedom of speech and religious liberty are being trampled. There is also widespread belief that violence and anarchy are being organized and funded by powerful forces that are maneuvering America toward a socialist dictatorship. There is always a kingmaker behind such lawlessness. Most disturbing is open talk of another civil war. It is troubling to even utter those words. The last time Americans faced off against each other, 600,000 soldiers died. May God forbid it from happening again.”
Eric Metaxas has said in an interview with conservative talk show host Charlie Kirk, “I firmly believe that Trump actually won and there has been massive fraud. So, let’s just stop. You believe that. So, my attitude is like, so, who cares what I can prove in courts? And I’m going to do anything I can to uncover this horror, this evil.” In the same article, Texas Pastor Greg Locke is quoted as saying, “I do not believe for one second that Joe Biden is going to be the president. God is NOT finished with Donald Trump and I refuse to shatter people’s hopes in that regard. It is far from over and we are still very much in this fight.”
According to the Washington Post, many of Trump’s faith advisors condemned the attack on the Capitol but gave the President a pass. Despite the events of Wednesday, both [mega-church pastor Robert] Jeffress and [founder of the Christian Coalition Ralph] Reed were unequivocal in their praise of Trump’s presidency overall. Jeffress said: “No conservative president has done more than Donald Trump to champion Christian values. He has done more in the pro-life, pro-religious liberty, pro-Israel with moving the Embassy — no one has been more vocal. … I don’t regret for one minute supporting him.”
Why have Evangelicals, who believe in Christ’s message of love, holiness and inclusion, supported a racist, misogynist, narcissist, who is a living contradiction of the “Golden Rule?” The fundamental reason has been Trump’s and the Republican’s support for Christian cultural priorities: pro-life, pro-prayer, pro “family values.” These battles in the culture wars have overshadowed the full Gospel message of Jesus in Matthew 25:40: “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
Some Evangelicals have resisted the siren song of Trump. Christianity Today, founded by the Reverend Billy Graham, published an editorial on December 19, 2019 during Trump’s first impeachment trial, entitled “Trump should be Removed from Office.” The editorial begins, “In our founding documents, Billy Graham explains that Christianity Today will help evangelical Christians interpret the news in a manner that reflects their faith. The impeachment of Donald Trump is a significant event in the story of our republic. It requires comment.”
It goes on to say “Trump’s evangelical supporters have pointed to his Supreme Court nominees, his defense of religious liberty, and his stewardship of the economy, among other things, as achievements that justify their support of the president. We believe the impeachment hearings have made it absolutely clear, in a way the Mueller investigation did not, that President Trump has abused his authority for personal gain and betrayed his constitutional oath. The impeachment hearings have illuminated the president’s moral deficiencies for all to see. This damages the institution of the presidency, damages the reputation of our country, and damages both the spirit and the future of our people. None of the president’s positives can balance the moral and political danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character.” Imagine what they would say today.
Other prominent evangelicals believe the President is dangerous both to the country and to the Christian Church. Beth Moore, a popular Christian author and teacher, tweeted, “I do not believe these are days for mincing words. I’m 63 1/2 years old & I have never seen anything in these United States of America I found more astonishingly seductive & dangerous to the saints of God than Trumpism. This Christian nationalism is not of God. Move back from it.”
Some have recanted from their support of Trump and suffered as a consequence. This is the beginning of a Facebook post by the conservative preacher Jeremiah Johnson. On Jan. 7, the day after the storming of the Capitol, Johnson had issued a public apology, asserting that God removed Donald Trump from office because of his pride and arrogance, and to humble those, like Johnson, who had fervently supported him.
The response was swift and vicious. As he put it in that later Facebook post, “I have been flabbergasted at the barrage of continued conspiracy theories being sent every minute our way and the pure hatred being unleashed. To my great heartache, I’m convinced parts of the prophetic/charismatic movement are far SICKER than I could have ever dreamed of.”
As David Brooks noted, “One core feature of Trumpism is that it forces you to betray every other commitment you might have: to the truth, moral character, the Sermon on the Mount, conservative principles, the Constitution. In defeat, some people are finally not willing to sacrifice all else on Trump’s altar.” I will let Tom Friedman have the last words: “Folks, we just survived something really crazy awful: four years of a president without shame, backed by a party without spine, amplified by a network without integrity, each pumping out conspiracy theories without truth, brought directly to our brains by social networks without ethics — all heated up by a pandemic without mercy