By Steve Holland and Michelle Conlin
October 8, 2016
Leaders of religious conservative groups largely stood behind Donald Trump on Saturday, the day after vulgar sexual comments he made about women surfaced online, but some expressed concern that the U.S. Republican presidential nominee's remarks could depress evangelical turnout on Election Day.
Most evangelical leaders did not condemn Trump, and instead pointed to an urgent need to prevent Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton from winning the presidency, reshaping the Supreme Court and implementing liberal policies.
Gary Bauer, chairman of the Campaign for Working Families, said Trump's "grossly inappropriate language" does not change the choice facing the country in the Nov. 8 election and that "I continue to support the Trump-Pence ticket."
"Hillary Clinton is committed to enacting policies that will erode religious liberty, promote abortion, make our country less safe, and leave our borders unprotected," Bauer said.
White evangelicals make up about 20 percent of the U.S. population, according to the Public Religion Research Institute, and represent a crucial voting bloc Trump needs to win the presidency.
Still, the majority view among religious conservatives appeared to be summed up by Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council action group, who said evangelicals "are left with a choice of voting for the one who will do the least damage to our freedoms."
"This is far from an ideal situation, but it is the reality in which we find ourselves and as difficult as it is, I refuse to find sanctuary on the sidelines and allow the country and culture to deteriorate even further by continuing the policies of the last eight years," he said.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/evangelical-leaders-stick-trump-focus-defeating-clinton-200942769.html
