His team capitalized on the fear of many right-wing white Christians in the United States.
January 19, 2024 11:00 a.m.
The 2024 US presidential election began with a huge victory for Donald Trump in the Iowa caucuses, as he seeks the Republican Party nomination.
Much of his support came from white evangelical or born-again Christians – more than half (53%) of them. identifying with this label said in an exit poll that they voted for him. This situation is likely to be repeated in many parts of the country, so Trump may well be returned to the presidency thanks to highly tribal sectarian support.
It is truly disconcerting to most British Christians that so many of our American counterparts can support a man whose character and actions – hardly Christ-like – are similar to those of Trump. And this time around, the prospect of his election threatens to destabilize not just America, but the entire world, as he proposes to withdraw support for Ukraine and withdraw from NATO.
The United Kingdom is politically much less religiously tribal than the United States. I have many cross-party friendships with other Christian MPs. We can sharing a faith while disagreeing on politics.
But the deep divisions within American society have trampled the political middle ground. We can see this to some extent in the UK after the years of Brexit disagreements, the Corbyn years and the Reform Party’s current (successful) attempts to put the Conservatives’ immigration policies on their agenda.
This situation is much more advanced in America, where the divisions are deeper and wider. Politics has become a question of salvation: vote for the leader most likely to save you from the threats you believe are knocking at your door.
Trump’s team has capitalized on the fear, shared by many right-wing white Christians, that liberal, Islamist and Marxist forces seek to destroy society. They have used “Make America Great Again” to promote a Christian cultural identity that their supporters believe is under threat. It’s about saving America from a hostile world.
And they use highly religious, quasi-messianic language, as in the widely shared language “God Made Trump” Videowhich describes him as God’s chosen interim leader to preserve American culture and “a shepherd for humanity who will never leave or forsake them.”
This seems to hit the mark. A Trump supporter was quoted in the New York Times as saying, “He is the only savior I can see.” Another said the election was “part of a spiritual battle” in which the Republican should inflict “retaliation on all those who have encouraged evil in this country.”
Of course, a good portion of the population also opposes Trump’s nomination. A national investigation giving voters a Trump vs. Biden option in 2024 shows that 76% of white evangelical Protestants support Trump, along with more than half of white Catholics and white non-evangelical Protestants. By contrast, 79% of black Protestant voters support Biden, as do two-thirds of religiously unaffiliated and non-Christian voters.
I’m not suggesting that people of faith should vote Democratic, but as a Christian from across the Atlantic, I fear that many white American evangelicals are being misled by Trump. Dismissing his character and actions as unimportant, they often quote some of Jesus’ sayings from the Gospels.
The religious leaders tried to surprise Jesus by bringing him a Roman coin and asking if they should pay taxes to Caesar. His response was: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” » These verses are used to affirm that people should keep the faith in a private sphere, seeking in every way to show love, kindness and forgiveness in our personal lives. But then they can abandon all the embarrassing Christian values in the political struggle.
In this context, it is argued, it is perfectly acceptable to act with malice and anger, stoking division and culture war. Different rules apply and the end justifies the means.
I don’t think that’s what Jesus meant by that. He surely meant something much more radical, which is equally worrying and unpleasant on the left and the right. You see, the coin had Caesar’s image on it and so Jesus shrugs and says it should be given to Caesar. But Genesis 1 tells us that, unlike the coin, humans bear the image of God.
Jesus is saying here that you belong – and must give yourself completely – to God. If you claim to be a Christian, you are called to apply and live the teachings of Christ in every area of your life. So you must not adapt your faith to your politics, but you must humbly adapt your politics to be faithful to Him whose image you bear.
And to those who are without faith and who are watching, I say this. Please don’t judge Christianity – or Christ – by the willingness of so many Americans to throw off the shackles of their faith and treat Trump as the new Messiah.
MP Tim Farron is the former leader of the Liberal Democrats
