"We have been asleep. 'Now we've woken up,' evangelical Christian women in Texas say. On the campaign trail, they are mobilizing against Donald Trump's policies – and against "politicizing" their faith from the pulpit.
Of all things, in front of the "First Baptist" church of Robert Jeffress, house preacher of President Donald Trump. Election ads for surprise Democratic U.S. Senate candidate; bumper sticker for charismatic Beto O'Rourke, 46. One stuck on Sarah Bailey's car, upset with Trump's political pastor. "We can't put up with this any longer," the evangelical Christian told The New York Times – referring to political paternalism from the pulpit.
Evangelicals protest "politicization" of faith
So far, they have always voted Republican – because of the ie of protecting life and abortion. Like many others, however, Bailey now chafes at the U.S. president's treatment of immigrants and refugees, as well as his sexist behavior. Sarah's friend Emily Mooney also has a "Beto" sticker on her SUV. In doing so, they oppose the "politicization" of their faith by Trumpist church leaders who are calling for the election of ultraconservative Ted Cruz (47) in Texas.
Under the public's radar, pollsters recently observe a shift in white evangelical women's voting favor in Texas. They increasingly ignore calls from the pulpit and now support young Democrat O'Rourke. With one in three voters there describing themselves as "evangelical" and about 85 percent voting for Trump in 2016, even minor shifts could have big consequences for Cruz. "I'm as interested in babies on the border as I am in babies in the womb," Tess Clarke agrees with her friend Emily Mooney. Separating immigrant families at the U.S. border with Mexico is unacceptable and simply un-Christian, he said. 'We've been asleep'. 'Now we've woken up,' she says.
Women religious promote justice on bus tour
Ahead of the so-called midterm elections on 6. November Catholics also mobilize against Trump's policies, which many perceive as anti-family and anti-woman. Catholic women religious, for example, with a social justice bus tour. The tour, organized by Sister Simone Campbell, is crisscrossing the country. Campbell is considered a moral institution not only among Catholics. Loudly drummed against the confirmation of "Supreme Court" Judge Brett Kavanaugh recently.
At 54 stops in 21 states, women religious want to campaign for candidates who stand up for the vulnerable in society. They are purposefully trying to mobilize women's votes in Catholic-leaning voting districts and in close races in congressional elections. The final rally is for 2. November planned at Mar-a-Lago in the U.S. state of Florida, just outside Trump's golf mansion.
On another bus, evangelical Christians who feel similarly to Sarah Bailey and the "Beto" supporters mobilize. Under the slogan "Tilt Congress – Vote for the Common Good," they want to appeal to believers who think Trump's policies are incompatible with their values. Stops are planned in 30 congressional districts nationwide between now and Election Day in November. In Texas alone, the state with the showdown between O'Rourke and Cruz, the bus plans to stay six days.
The tour's organizer, Pastor Doug Pagitt of Minneapolis, calls the movement of progressive evangelicals nonpartisan. He said more and more Christians are outraged by the treatment of immigrants and refugees, as well as the treatment of creation and unjust social and tax policies. "It's time we stop electing politicians who don't care about the least among us," he appeals to evangelicals. Admittedly, the decision will be made at the ballot box.
By Thomas Spang