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How many “why do white evangelicals support Trump?” think pieces do we have to write before someone gets the framing right? This @nytimes story, like many before it, misses the mark and here’s why. 1/ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/09/us/evangelicals-trump-christianity.html?referringSource=articleShare
From the start, this framing seems off. Was “love thy neighbor as yourself” behind opposition to gay rights or support for wars? This courtship isn’t so surprising when you consider contradictions have always been at the center of the white evangelical political movement. 2/
Having grown up among white evangelicals in rural Ohio, these disconnects have been apparent my whole life. Here’s where these stories often miss: Trump’s rise did not create these contradictions — it brought them into the open. 3/
For example. Why are we pretending to be shocked that the same voting bloc that for decades backed openly racist politicians like Jesse Helms is now ok with someone who “cozied up to bigots”? Have you ever had an unfiltered talk with older white evangelical folks about race? 4/
Could keep going with this, line by line. Promising to ban Mulisms didn’t contradict the moral views of many white evangelicals — it was literally aimed at winning their support! Have you asked many white evangelical Christian what they think about Islam? 5/
This obviously doesn’t describe all white evangelical Christians, especially younger groups. But the story here shouldn’t be why so many Christians hold their nose to support Trump — but why so many view him as the embodiment of what a good Christian should be. /6
Hey @RobDownenChron maybe you could take a crack at writing this story before November? I believe in you. (Maybe)
Interesting related read, via @jeffsyourhero: “In reality, evangelicals did not cast their vote despite their beliefs, but because of them.”
Link: https://www.christianitytoday.com/scot-mcknight/2020/july/manning-up-americas-evangelicalism.html
Link: https://www.christianitytoday.com/scot-mcknight/2020/july/manning-up-americas-evangelicalism.html
