Given Donald Trump is a serially accused sexual predator, known racist and misogynist, p
We now have evidence that not only have these so-called Jesus-loving Trumpists continue to consider themselves evangelicals while politically supporting the living embodiment of the seven deadly sins, there are more of those hypocrites than ever.
In September, the Pew Research Center released new analysis from survey data that found there was no large-scale departure from evangelicalism by White Americans during the Trump administration that included Trump setting up internment camps and entertaining his dictator kink while using the Bible along with a church as props for a photo op. They note that, in fact, “there is solid evidence that White Americans who viewed Trump favorably and did not identify as evangelicals in 2016 were much more likely than White Trump skeptics to begin identifying as born-again or evangelical Protestants by 2020.” Moreover, “data also shows that Trump’s electoral performance among White evangelicals was even stronger in 2020 than in 2016, partially due to increased support among White voters who described themselves as evangelicals throughout this period.”
Isn’t that the kind of cognitive dissonance that made Jesus crack the whip on heathens? It’s been a while since catechism, but I remember the greatest hits and themes. We can agree to disagree about Jesus looking like that White fella often depicted in society, but can we at least say that the man (not White, FYI) wasn’t racist like Donald Trump? Jesus was about fish, charity, and praising God. The only thing Trump shares with Jesus is the love of a fish sandwich .Trump — in all his perversion and penchant for saying the “White is right” subtext of GOP ideology out loud — has made it so clear what they all believe in.
I never anticipated these people having a real awakening. I didn’t grow up evangelical, but I’m the son of a devout Catholic. I’m well versed in the politics of the Vatican and U.S. bishops, which mirror those of White evangelicals because, for all the diversity of the Catholic church, leadership is predominately White. Where they differ on the details of theology, they are in unison when it comes to caring more about being White than anything like Jesus.
I wish more people would say that since they seem to be screaming the truth at us.
Now, juxtapose this with data released this month from Pew about how Black Americans, regardless of their religious affiliation, think about the role race and racism play in faith.
According to their findings, three-quarters of Black Americans say that opposing racism is essential to their faith or sense of morality. More:
The majority of Black Protestants — regardless of the race of their congregations — along with Black Catholics and other Christians, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Orthodox Christians and other groups, say that opposing racism is essential to what being a Christian means to them. Likewise, the majority of Black non-Christians — including Muslims, adherents of traditional African or Afro-Caribbean religions and other groups — say that opposing racism is essential to what their faith means to them (82%). And 71% of Black religiously unaffiliated adults say that opposing racism is essential to their sense of morality.
Also interesting was that six in 10 Black Americans say that historically Black congregations should try to “become more racially and ethnically diverse.” I am not a regular churchgoer anymore (my mother prays for this to change), but I did attend First Corinthians Baptist Church in Harlem and recall seeing White tourists in the pews. I know some people have mixed feelings about that, but the Christian thing would be to open the doors to all — and pray they don’t stare.
Of course, Black folks generally — much less Black Christians — having a better understanding of Christian ideals than White evangelicals isn’t breaking news to Black people, but the hypocrisies deserve wider attention rather than the more favorable portrayals White evangelicals are used to receiving. Favorable in that they’re so often not called out on their shit like supporting a bigot.
Such a segment did recently air on CBS News, focusing on which White evangelicals do and don’t want to focus on the roles race and racism play in faith. It was a lot better than coverage seen on Meet the Press, which was recently criticized for not even acknowledging some of these “evangelicals” are racist. Still, not enough is being done to challenge the faith of self-described White evangelicals and what the embracement of the term signifies in this climate.
In an op-ed for the New York Times, Ryan Burge, a Baptist pastor and assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, wrote about Pew’s findings on White evangelicals, saying it indicates “more and more Americans are conflating evangelicalism with Republicanism — and melding two forces to create a movement that is not entirely about politics or religion but power.”
It’s the same scam for them as it’s always been. But Trump — in all his perversion and penchant for saying the “White is right” subtext of GOP ideology out loud — has made it so clear what they all believe in. And with that, as Burge notes, “White evangelicalism has never been more politically unified than it is right now.”
If the club is fashioned more after Donald Trump than Jesus, call it and those that follow it some other name than evangelical and let the people who actually practice what Jesus preached have it.
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