The Church’s Role in the US Presidential Election

The Church’s Role election president American**
________________________________________

February 24, 1446
August 28, 2024 AD
_____________________

In a country that calls itself democratic, liberal and secular, does the Church play a direct role in influencing voters’ opinions? Why do presidential candidates seek the blessings of priests and clergy?

Source: Website: theconversation

Screenwriter: Tobin Miller Hiller

Professor and Chair of History: Director of the African American Studies Program at the University of Montana

Religion may play a big role in voters’ choices election president 2024 – Like every year. Despite America’s general move away from religion, religious discourse in the political arena has intensified.

In the 2016 election, evangelical voters contributed in part to Republican candidate Donald Trump’s overall victory — more than 55 percent of them supported Trump, and not just Americans who identified themselves as Republicans. "Weekly churchgoers" He received 66 percent of the vote among white evangelicals, tipping the balance against his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

Evangelical support for Trump remains strong election president 2020. However, Joe Biden has managed to attract his fellow Catholics to his cause and convince some evangelicals to vote for him. Biden has the endorsement of 1,600 Catholic, Protestant and evangelical leaders.

Three major trends are likely to emerge in 2024. In particular… election There has been more intense talk of impending apocalypse, more claims of divine support from evangelical groups, and relative silence from evangelical groups on the rise of Christian nationalism.

1. The Last Days Speech

The Apocalyptic Word Plays a Prominent Role in Politics American It was a long time ago. In 2016, the candidate said president Clinton told The New York Times: "Like I tell people, I’m the last thing between you and the end of the world"Three years ago, Texas Senator Ted Cruz warned: "We have a few years to change the course of the country, otherwise we will fall into the abyss".

Whatever the outcome of the 2024 election, the shift from historical assertions of democracy’s sacred authority to challenges to it is already evident.

Indeed, American leaders have successfully mobilized followers through apocalyptic rhetoric since the nation’s founding. Ever since Protestant John Winthrop first described America as… "City on a Hill" Presidential candidates continually exploit the threat of losing this sacred status.

Kennedy used the exact same photo "City on a Hill" In his 1961 inaugural address, he declared— "With God’s help" -Courage, integrity, dedication and wisdom will define his administration.

Some of Ronald Reagan’s claims to fame include "It’s time to choose"In a speech nominating Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, he warned, "We will preserve this last hope of humanity on Earth for our children, or we will condemn them to take their first step in a thousand years of darkness."Reagan also revived the image of the City on a Hill in his farewell address 25 years later, while praising American freedom.

When he announced his candidacy president At the end of 2022, Trump confirmed "The streets of our great cities, once stained with blood, are now a swamp of violent crime."citing disastrous images of drug smuggling and illegal immigration. By March 2023, at the Conservative Political Action Conference’s annual meeting, he predicted: " If they win [الديمقراطيون]We won’t have a country.".

Religious leaders also pray for US President Donald Trump during the campaign "Evangelicals support Trump" The conference was held on January 3, 2020 at the King Jesus International Ministry Center in Miami.

Biden also cited images of the final battle. On September 1, 2022, he said in a speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia that he and his supporters were fighting… " Fighting for the soul of this nation".

2. Divine Command

Since the founding of the Republic, many political leaders in the United States have claimed a divine mission. They claim that God directed the establishment of democratic institutions in the country, election Popularity refers to the balance of power in the Constitution.

The Christian Identity Movement is a new religious movement in North America that gained popularity in the 1980s among organized white supremacist groups who claim that they believe people of color are " Mud Race "God created them inferior

For example, George Washington wrote to Secretary of War Benjamin Lincoln in June 1788: "Providence’s finger is clearly pointed" To the founding of the United States. Last year, Benjamin Franklin gave a speech at the Constitutional Convention in which he stated: "God controls human affairs. If a bird cannot land without being noticed, can an empire rise without its help?".

In 1954, during the Cold War, President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill adding the following phrase: "Under God’s Guidance" Taking the Oath of Allegiance constituted a confirmation of Washington’s previous claims.

Scholars have long documented how those in power use claims of divine authority to legitimize their roles in many different countries. More recently, some politicians and opinion leaders in the United States have turned to claims of divine authority in their anti-democratic behavior.

Then-Pennsylvania Senator Doug Mastriano prays before the January 6, 2021 insurrection, hoping that those seeking "Seize power" They will do "According to your own wishes".

Conservative radio star Eric Metaxas claims the insurrection is "God’s battles are greater than ours" It defines the event as one inspired by God. Such claims by such an influential voice strengthen the commitment of those who seek to undermine the democratic electoral process.

Whatever the outcome of the 2024 election, the shift from historical assertions of democracy’s sacred authority to challenges to it is already evident.

3. White supremacy and Christian nationalism

In the United States, religious and racial identities have been intertwined since the nation’s founding. White supremacists in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have explicitly claimed that providence is on the side of white people, though this has also been expressed in more subtle and systematic forms.

They promoted Nazi ideology and established new organizations that reformulated similar philosophies while borrowing from religious ideas.

The Christian Identity Movement is a new religious movement in North America that gained popularity in the 1980s among organized white supremacist groups who claim that they believe people of color are " Mud Race "God created them inferior. They also stressed that the religious covenant between God and man as set out in the Bible applied only to people of European descent.

same, "Alt-right movement" White racism in the 2010s, which coalesced around biological racist philosophies and beliefs in white superiority around the world, also conflated overt white supremacy with religious teachings.

This close connection between religious advocacy and white supremacy also appears in overtly racist organizations on the major political stage. In this case, the trend is ignored. Evangelical leaders have consistently failed to condemn or separate themselves from leaders with clear ties to white supremacy.

When Trump had the chance to denounce white supremacists in a debate president In early 2020, he addressed the violent white supremacist group the Proud Boys, saying: " Stand back and get ready"This pattern continued during his campaign with his decision to hire staffers such as white nationalist Steve Bannon. president The first, in November 2022, had dinner with white supremacist Nick Fuentes.

Voices of white supremacy have also emerged in this Congress. In the spring of 2023, 26 members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee refused to sign a letter condemning white supremacy.

But it is unclear whether these trends will continue in their current form, shift into new forms, or be replaced by discursive strategies we have not yet conceived. What is most certain is that religion and politics will continue to interact.

______________________________________________
** M: Declaration.
______________________________________________