christiefan915
Catalyst
I've been thinking about this issue, how do Christian fundamentalists justify supporting Trump? He's the antithesis of everything they hold important.
For a generation, Christian conservative activists played such a central role in Republican presidential campaigns that the GOP has been called America’s first religious party. They opposed abortion and same-sex marriage and supported the party’s opposition to legal recognition of those two issues. And they promoted public recognition of religion, such as courthouse displays of the Ten Commandments and school recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance with its “under God” clause. While these were hardly the only issues on Republican platforms, they were central to many voters. This year, so much has been scrambled.
It’s not just that Donald Trump, who is nobody’s idea of a religious conservative, has gathered surprisingly strong support among self-described born-again Christians — and among Republican Catholics, no matter what Pope Francis says about those who build walls. And it’s not just the campaign mud-slinging, name-calling and anatomical boasts. It’s also that the issues themselves have shifted.
Yes, Mr. Trump, the billionaire businessman, has courted religious conservative leaders such as the Rev. Jerry Falwell Jr., though many other evangelical leaders have opposed him. And Mr. Trump has pledged to “protect Christianity,” which he says is “under siege.” But he has built his lead in delegates toward the GOP nomination by capturing and stirring anger over government, politicians, the economy and by targeting illegal immigrants and Muslims for exclusion. Ted Cruz, the U.S. senator from Texas with the pedigree of a pastor’s son and fluency in biblical vocabulary, is making a strong appeal for Christian conservatives’ votes, but their votes had been spread thinly across multiple candidates until they began dropping out.
Abortion appears a back-burner issue this year. And whereas a decade ago, a sure vote-getter in many states was to propose a constitutional amendment restricting marriage to heterosexual couples, nobody is seriously pushing such a response to the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. That’s in recognition that Americans have radically shifted toward affirming same-sex relationships. Instead, religious conservatives are now taking a defensive posture. They’re calling for religious-freedom protections that would enable wedding vendors and others to conscientiously object to catering to same-sex marriages. A similar argument is being advanced in a pending case before the Supreme Court, brought by faith-based charities and schools seeking to opt out of the contraception mandate in Obamacare. Even so, such matters aren’t political drivers this campaign.
“I don’t think social issues have played nearly the kind of role they had in the past,” said Terry Madonna, director of the Franklin & Marshall College Poll. “Overall, the focus has largely been on the economy. The whole dynamic seems to be playing out on domestic politics more than the great social issues of our time.” He added that in recent polls “social issues are 1-3 percent top of mind. They’re just not simply there.” He said we shouldn’t be shocked that many evangelicals are drawn to Mr. Trump’s talking points. “If I’m an evangelical or born-again Christian, why can’t I also care about whether my party has let me down, whether my voice is being heard?” he said."
(Continued)
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/po...16-presidential-campaign/stories/201604250008
For a generation, Christian conservative activists played such a central role in Republican presidential campaigns that the GOP has been called America’s first religious party. They opposed abortion and same-sex marriage and supported the party’s opposition to legal recognition of those two issues. And they promoted public recognition of religion, such as courthouse displays of the Ten Commandments and school recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance with its “under God” clause. While these were hardly the only issues on Republican platforms, they were central to many voters. This year, so much has been scrambled.
It’s not just that Donald Trump, who is nobody’s idea of a religious conservative, has gathered surprisingly strong support among self-described born-again Christians — and among Republican Catholics, no matter what Pope Francis says about those who build walls. And it’s not just the campaign mud-slinging, name-calling and anatomical boasts. It’s also that the issues themselves have shifted.
Yes, Mr. Trump, the billionaire businessman, has courted religious conservative leaders such as the Rev. Jerry Falwell Jr., though many other evangelical leaders have opposed him. And Mr. Trump has pledged to “protect Christianity,” which he says is “under siege.” But he has built his lead in delegates toward the GOP nomination by capturing and stirring anger over government, politicians, the economy and by targeting illegal immigrants and Muslims for exclusion. Ted Cruz, the U.S. senator from Texas with the pedigree of a pastor’s son and fluency in biblical vocabulary, is making a strong appeal for Christian conservatives’ votes, but their votes had been spread thinly across multiple candidates until they began dropping out.
Abortion appears a back-burner issue this year. And whereas a decade ago, a sure vote-getter in many states was to propose a constitutional amendment restricting marriage to heterosexual couples, nobody is seriously pushing such a response to the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. That’s in recognition that Americans have radically shifted toward affirming same-sex relationships. Instead, religious conservatives are now taking a defensive posture. They’re calling for religious-freedom protections that would enable wedding vendors and others to conscientiously object to catering to same-sex marriages. A similar argument is being advanced in a pending case before the Supreme Court, brought by faith-based charities and schools seeking to opt out of the contraception mandate in Obamacare. Even so, such matters aren’t political drivers this campaign.
“I don’t think social issues have played nearly the kind of role they had in the past,” said Terry Madonna, director of the Franklin & Marshall College Poll. “Overall, the focus has largely been on the economy. The whole dynamic seems to be playing out on domestic politics more than the great social issues of our time.” He added that in recent polls “social issues are 1-3 percent top of mind. They’re just not simply there.” He said we shouldn’t be shocked that many evangelicals are drawn to Mr. Trump’s talking points. “If I’m an evangelical or born-again Christian, why can’t I also care about whether my party has let me down, whether my voice is being heard?” he said."
(Continued)
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/po...16-presidential-campaign/stories/201604250008
