White evangelical voters show steadfast support for Donald Trump’s presidency

After erstwhile President Donald Trump gave his triumph reside early Wednesday, astatine nan Palm Beach Convention Center, dozens of his supporters gathered successful a lobby to singing “How Great Thou Art,” reciting from representation nan words and harmonies of a classical hymn, celebrated among evangelical Christians.

It was a fitting coda to an predetermination successful which Trump erstwhile again won nan support of astir 8 successful 10 achromatic evangelical Christian voters, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping study of much than 120,000 voters. That separator — among a group that represented astir 20% of nan full electorate — repeats likewise staggering margins of evangelical support that T rump received successful 2020.

Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church of Dallas, 1 of Trump’s astir salient evangelical supporters since nan 2016 campaign, called nan predetermination a “great victory.”

“Yes, location were immoderate religion issues important to evangelicals, but evangelicals are Americans, too,” Jeffress said. “They attraction astir immigration, they attraction astir nan economy.”

Jeffress dismissed concerns of those who foretell a Christian nationalist administration.

“People who are not Christians are unduly worried he’s going to institute immoderate benignant of oppressive theocracy. He has nary liking successful doing that,” Jeffress said, noting that Trump has shown nary liking successful banning same-sex matrimony aliases imposing an absolute abortion ban.

Trump’s strongest supporters among evangelical leaders tin apt expect nan benignant of White House entree they had successful nan first Trump term.

Trump has proclaimed a consciousness of divine mandate.

“Many group person told maine that God spared my life for a reason,” Trump said successful his triumph speech, referring to nan wide proclamations among evangelical supporters that he received miraculous divine protection successful nan near-fatal assassination effort successful Butler, Pennsylvania, connected July 13. “And that logic was to prevention our state and to reconstruct America to greatness.”

Some Trump critics fearfulness he will instrumentality a Christian nationalist schedule they spot arsenic giving Christians a privileged position successful nan state and flouting nan separation of religion and state. Others wonderment really specified an schedule would look successful practice.

On nan campaign trail, Trump pledged to “protect Christians successful our schools and successful our subject and our government” and successful “our nationalist square.” Many church-state battles successful caller years person focused connected Christian symbols successful nationalist settings, specified arsenic displays of crosses.

The Republican level pledged to take sides Christians arsenic good arsenic Jews facing persecution. While it included a wide promise to protect nan believe of each religion groups, those were nan only 2 singled retired by name. The level besides championed nan correct to “pray and publication nan Bible successful school.”

Trump is pledging to support different evangelical priorities, specified arsenic support for Israel and a pushback connected transgender rights, saying, “God created 2 genders, antheral and female.” Evangelicals person been dismayed that Trump has distanced himself from nan strictest antiabortion proposals, though evangelical leaders saw Trump arsenic preferable to Harris’ beardown defense for abortion rights.

Pro-Trump rallies featured expressions that person been embraced by Christian nationalists, specified arsenic nan opus “God Bless nan U.S.A.” Many astatine Trump rallies deterioration shirts proclaiming, “Jesus is my savior, Trump is my president.”

Evangelicals’ support of Trump initially took galore by surprise, fixed his casino ventures, aggregate marriages, accusations of intersexual misconduct and, much recently, his cardinal domiciled successful fomenting nan 2021 Capitol riot and his condemnation connected fraud charges. But galore supporters conflict these accusations aliases spot him arsenic an imperfect but powerful champion.

“People support President Trump not for his piety but for his policies,” Jeffress said.

John Fea, a history professor astatine Messiah University successful Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, who wrote a book connected nan evangelical backing for Trump successful his 2016 campaign, said nan persistence of that support was not surprising.

In this campaign, Fea said he said pinch evangelicals who were uncomfortable pinch Trump. They were “looking for immoderate logic to ballot for Harris,” specified arsenic immoderate moderation connected abortion. “I don’t deliberation Harris was giving them much.”

It wasn’t conscionable white, non-Hispanic evangelicals supporting Trump. So did astir conscionable complete half of Latino evangelicals and astir 6 successful 10 achromatic Catholics, according to AP VoteCast. Overall, astir 6 successful 10 Mormons besides backed nan erstwhile president.

Pastor Abraham Rivera of La Puerta Life Center successful North Miami, Florida, attributed Trump’s fame among each Latinos, and evangelicals successful particular, to their blimpish values regarding morality and family.

“The gender personality rumor that nan near pushes a lot, I deliberation it puts disconnected a batch of Latino evangelicals,” Rivera said. Members of his congregation voiced immoderate concerns astir Trump’s “personality aliases things he says,” but not his policies, Rivera said.

He expects nan predominant contacts that Latino evangelical leaders had pinch Trump’s first management to continue, giving them a voice. In contrast, he felt doors “were unopen closed” successful nan Biden White House, which seemed to disregard nan values of galore conservatives.

But Rivera added: “The thought that immoderate evil Christian correct is going to return complete everything is conscionable crazy.”

Fea said a Christian nationalist schedule whitethorn beryllium much rhetorical than substantive connected nan nationalist level — whereas he said location are genuine cases of it connected nan section level. He anticipated that nan Trump management would not push backmost against specified things arsenic a caller Louisiana rule requiring nan posting of nan Ten Commandments successful nationalist schools and an Oklahoma acquisition official’s bid for nationalist schools to incorporated nan Bible into lessons. Both look tribunal challenges.

Even if nan administration’s expressions of belief are successful rhetoric alternatively than policy, that tin person an effect successful a state that is more secular and religiously divers than successful past generations, said Andrew Whitehead, writer of “Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism successful nan United States.”

“For those who do not clasp that look of Christianity aliases nan Christian belief aliases nary belief astatine all, they will consciousness marked arsenic ‘other’ and not genuinely American,” said Whitehead, subordinate professor of sociology astatine Indiana University Indianapolis.

Whitehead anticipated that a Christian nationalist position will apt motivate restrictive migration policies connected nan grounds of protecting accepted American culture, specified arsenic nan first Trump administration’s prohibition connected recreation from respective Muslim-majority countries.

The 2024 Republican level pledged to usage “existing national rule to support overseas Christian-hating Communists, Marxists, and Socialists,” arsenic good arsenic “jihadists” retired of America. On nan run trail, Trump said he would shape a national task unit to conflict nan “persecution against Christians successful America.”

Other groups, nationally and wrong section churches, are poised to push backmost connected a Christian nationalist agenda.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State pledged to defy immoderate Trump management policies that privilege Christians and usage claims of belief state arsenic a “license to discriminate,” said Andrew Seidel, nan group’s vice president of strategical communications.

He anticipates nan incoming Trump management has a scheme to instrumentality nan Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which he said has a Christian nationalist blueprint, contempt Trump distancing himself from it.

“This time, they are fresh for a win,” Seidel said. “Last clip they were nan canine that caught nan car. They didn’t cognize what they were doing. They’re going to beryllium fresh to spell connected time one.”

The Rev. Tim Schaefer, pastor of First Baptist Church of Madison, Wisconsin, said he opposes Christian nationalism successful portion because it defies nan separation of religion and authorities – an important belief successful his Baptist tradition.

“Our occupation past is to punctual folks that we were not established arsenic a Christian nation,” he said. “There was a desire connected behalf of nan founders to beryllium a religiously pluralistic nation.”

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Associated Press belief sum receives support done nan AP’s collaboration pinch The Conversation US, pinch backing from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.