"EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS' CHOICE AGAINST TRUMP: MORE THAN ABORTION"

 Kelsey Vlamis Jan 30, 2024, 3:41 AM GMT+7

Supporters pray during an 'Evangelicals for Trump' campaign event as they await the arrival of President Donald Trump on January 03, 2020, in Miami, Florida.

Washington, D.C.C. When Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, many wondered how evangelical Christians could vote for him, a twice-divorced property magnate better known for his reality TV shows, playboy image, and infidelity rumors than for his faith. There is a common opinion: all this is only about abortion.

However, for some segments of evangelical and Republican Christians, that may be true. But, increasingly, for those who identify as evangelical Christians, abortion is no longer a top priority, experts say.

"Abortion was the answer at the dinner party to the question,' Why do you support Trump?" Ryan Burge, a political scientist at Eastern Illinois University and a Baptist minister, told Business Insider. "You don't want to say, 'I like Trump because he wants to expel all immigrants.'"

Although, according to Burge, "immigration is as important as abortion to evangelical voters,"

Regarding abortion, Trump did fulfill one of his biggest campaign promises: overturn Roe v. Wade. Three justices he appointed to the Supreme Court voted to end decades-old abortion rights in the US.

But as it became clear that most Americans did not want the decision, many Republicans relaxed their anti-abortion message, including Trump.

Although the former president continues to brag about overturning Roe, he blames the GOP's message on abortion for the party's lackluster performance in the 2022 midterm elections. He said that other Republicans need to temper their stance on abortion and seek consensus, as well as reject any kind of federal ban or restriction, calling it a states' rights issue.

That puts Trump clearly to the left of some of his previous top contenders in primaries on abortion.

For example, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed a law banning abortion after six weeks in his state, said that he would support a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Trump has even lashed out at DeSantis for his stance on abortion, suggesting that his more extreme stance is the reason DeSantis lags so far in the polls.

However, Trump's more moderate stance on the issue is unlikely to affect his support among evangelicals. In Iowa last week, Trump garnered more support from voters in evangelical-majority counties than he did in the 2016 primaries, according to the Washington Post. Polls from Iowa show that 53% of voters who identify as born-again Christians or white evangelicals in 2024 voted for Trump, up from a little more than 20% in 2016.

Despite DeSantis' efforts to appeal to evangelicals in the state, including showing off support from influential evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats, he performed below expectations in the caucus on January 15. Within days, he announced that he was ending his campaign and supporting Trump.

Burge and other political scientists note that partisanship, rather than religion, has long been a stronger indicator of how a person will vote in elections. In other words, people don't vote based on their faith as much as their identification with a particular political party.

This reality has become increasingly clear in recent years. Michael Wear, who served as a religious adviser to President Barack Obama, told Religion News Service that in the past, Republicans went as far as to get approval from evangelicals. Lately, he says, it seems to be the opposite. He pointed out that in 2023, a significant evangelical group in the region organized a meeting where former Fox News host Tucker Carlson conducted an interview with a prominent candidate rather than a pastor or other religious figure.

Wear told RNS that this demonstrates how evangelicals are attempting to gain the favor of conservatives rather than how Republicans are attempting to gain the favor of evangelicals.

Burge also argues that some evangelical voters are more motivated by fear of a decline in their influence, especially as the country generally becomes less religious and more diverse. He noted the effectiveness of the slogan "Make America Great Again," referring to a time when "white Christians controlled every aspect of American society." Trump frequently refers to Christians as a persecuted group and has embraced the idea that he is a God-sent savior.

Christianity "is rapidly losing its place in society every day," Burge said, adding that many white Christians "prefer it the way it used to be."

Samuel Perry, a sociologist at the University of Oklahoma who specializes in Christianity and politics, told NPR that despite recent victories like Roe's cancellation, many white evangelicals still feel like weaklings in the culture war.

"And they believe that Trump is a man who, in the past, has continued to promise to fight for them," he said.

When people feel their power and influence are rapidly diminishing, Burge says, that's when they struggle to keep it.

"I think that's why you see such a violent public display of Christian nationalism, "Burke said, adding that they" feel this is their last breath to be the majority in America and control everything."

Although the issue of abortion remains an important factor for some evangelical voters, recent political developments show that participation, religious views, and feelings of threat to certain groups are increasingly playing a major role in evangelical voter decisions on the U.S. political scene.

News Sources: https://www.businessinsider.com/evangelical-christian-voters-support-trump-despite-weak-abortion-stance-2024-1