Dismissed by the cultural elite. Disrespected by the mainstream media. Delegitimized by the American left. And desperate to stop the bleeding.
This is the story of Donald Trump, the perpetually insecure 45th president whose conquest of the White House was fueled by the contempt of a political class that never took him seriously. But it is equally the story of American evangelicalism, whose adherents feel marginalized in a culture that they believe no longer reflects its core values or tolerates its most polarizing principles.
Academics, intellectuals and journalists have devoted considerable time to the question of how Trump, a thrice-married casino owner who claimed never to have asked God for forgiveness, earned historic support from born-again Christians in the 2016 presidential election. Critics denounced this union as electoral opportunism devoid of any moral consistency; meanwhile, religious voters, facing a binary choice between Trump and Hillary Clinton, justified their support for the Republican nominee by pointing to the far-reaching political implications of Supreme Court appointments and policy changes on abortion and religious liberty.
But while this provides a more nuanced understanding of why Christians voted for Trump—81 percent of them, according to exit polling—it never illuminated why they felt a connection with him as a candidate, or why many feel an even stronger kinship with him as president today. One fascinating explanation, proffered repeatedly during conversations with evangelicals over the past year, is that they identify with Trump because both he and they have been systematically targeted in the public square—oftentimes by the same adversaries. This explains why Trump, speaking last week to the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual gathering in Washington, offered an extraordinary sentiment in pledging to support the evangelical community.
More:
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/06/13/trump-and-the-religious-right-a-match-made-in-heaven-215251Interesting take.
