White, christian, authoritarian

White, christian, authoritarian

Among no voter group does U.S. President Trump have more support than among conservative white Christians. Why do they elect a man for whom faith is apparently only lip service? Sociologist of religion Philip Gorski has investigated.

Interviewer: Recently, a Catholic priest from Wisconsin threatened his faithful that whoever supported the Democrats would go to hell. He was backed up by the Texas bishop Joseph Strickland. Are these isolated cases or do they stand for a part of the Catholics in the USA?

Prof. Philip Gorski (U.S. and professor of sociology at Yale University): It doesn't happen all the time, but they're not isolated cases either. Most pastors and priests do not preach voting recommendations from the pulpit. There are a few very well-known preachers, such as Jerry Falwell Jr. or Franklin Graham, who clearly take political positions and exert influence on television or radio. But the opinion that by voting one also makes salvation decisions is encountered more often.
Interviewer: But there are believers who take this seriously and really believe that they will go to hell if they vote for the wrong party?
Gorski: Yes, and increasingly there is the phenomenon of religious and partisan identity coinciding. That didn't happen in past decades, if you look at polls from the 1970s, for example: Back then, you couldn't predict how a person would vote based on their affiliation with a particular community. Today, there is a high probability. This has to do with the fact that, for one thing, Republicans have very systematically integrated evangelicals into their politics, for example, on ies of sexual morality, family values, and the ie of abortion.

But on the other hand, it's also a give and take. Preachers like Jerry Falwell Sr. have become really prominent and influential in this way because they have formed alliances with Republicans. The entanglements are so close that by now the joke is already circulating that "GOP" does not stand for "Grand Old Party" ("The MHG is not just the "grand old party" (Republicans), but also "God's own party". And that is how some see it.

Interviewer: But why do evangelicals bind themselves so closely to U.S. President Donald Trump, who has already proven many times with his lifestyle, his choice of words and the number of marriages he has had that religion has no particular meaning for him – unless it benefits him?

Gorski: There are those who truly believe him to be a devout Christian and grant him a somewhat naive, childlike faith. Some even consider him sent by God to free the faithful in the U.S. And on the other hand, there are many who don't really believe all that, but see him as a kind of strong protector, because they feel oppressed and marginalized in U.S. society.

Interviewer: In the last U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump received more votes from evangelical Christians than any candidate ever before. Does this mean that religious affiliation is of great importance in these elections??
Gorski: Yes and no, because on the one hand the number of non-believers is also increasing in the USA. It is estimated that a quarter of the total population describes itself as atheist. This is especially noticeable among Democrats, where religion plays a diminishing role. In Obama's time it would have been difficult to have an atheist as president, but now it is conceivable. Among Republicans, on the other hand, the importance of religion continues to grow as they define themselves as the white Christian party. Christians now make up overwhelming majority of its voters. White Christians increasingly leaning toward Republicans.

Interviewer: You also deal with this in your new book, "At the Crossroads. America's Christians and Democracy Before and After Trump". In it, you diagnose conservative U.S. Christians as having increasingly authoritarian tendencies, which certainly have the potential to undermine democracy in the U.S. What do you mean??

Gorski: I observe a waning acceptance of democracy among white, conservative Christians. If they had to choose between their political goals and democracy, the choice would be more in favor of the political goals. At the same time, they are increasingly attracted to authoritarian leaders, and I think that's the crossroads: Christianity and democracy are threatening to diverge in the United States. And that would be a very momentous turning point in U.S. history.
Interviewer: When you talk about Christians, do you mean mainly evangelicals or also Catholics? Do they also play a role in the upcoming election??
Gorski: Very much so, because in contrast to the Evangelicals, Catholics are more heterogeneous and less nationalistic. And they are torn between the parties because of their religious values. On sexual morality and abortion ie, they lean more toward Republicans. Values of Christian social teaching they find more represented among Democrats. According to recent polls, it looks more like U.S. Catholics are voting for Joe Biden.

Interviewer: ….who, after all, was the first Catholic president since John F. Kennedy would be. How important is that?

Gorski: That's not entirely unimportant because it's a large constituency and because it's an option for politically moderate Christians. For swing voters, it could be decisive that Biden is a devout Catholic.
Interviewer: Suppose Trump wins on 3. November the US presidential election. How do you then look to the future of your country??
Gorski: Then things look bleak. I really fear that our democracy will then be in jeopardy. Trump has repeatedly said, seemingly in jest, that he would also remain president for eight or 12 years, but I believe he is serious about this. If he is elected again, I fear that 2024 and 2028 will also be President Trump's name. Then the only question left is whether Senior, Junior or Ivanka.

I can imagine that Trump then pushes the USA in a Polish or Hungarian direction and increasingly maneuvers his people into key positions of politics, justice and army. In my eyes, democracy in the U.S. is in serious jeopardy.

Interviewer: If Biden wins: could he repair this damage to democracy they are watching?

Gorski: So much damage has been done in the last four years, it can't be fixed in one term. But I hope that he will straighten out foreign relations and that he will overcome the anger and division within society.

Looking at our future, I'm really afraid by now, and I'm not the only one. I think the weeks and months after the election are particularly important. Then there is the question of whether all the ballots were really counted correctly and the electoral men and women were chosen correctly. So much can go wrong. And above all, if the election outcome is close, Trump will not recognize the result and I fear riots up to civil war-like clashes.

The interview was conducted by Ina Rottscheidt.

Information: Philip Gorski is the author of the book: "At the Crossroads. America's Christians and Democracy Before and After Trump, (original title: American Babylon. Christianity and Democracy Before and After Trump), Herder Verlag 2020, 224 pages, 24 euros

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