Have Christian nationalists staged a "soft coup," with Trump as their figurehead?

[workinclasszero]

Have Christian nationalists staged a "soft coup," with Trump as their figurehead?
Scholar Andrew Whitehead: Right-wing evangelicals think Trump can make “their vision of a Christian nation” real
CHAUNCEY DEVEGA 04.05.2018•4:00 AM

By the standards of any of the world's major religions Donald Trump is an ungodly person, an enthusiastic and unrepentant sinner who revels in his misdeeds. Trump is a serial liar and apparent narcissist. He is a greedy, crude and selfish person who does not pay his debts. He has repeatedly cheated on his wives and bragged about it. He has boasted about sexually assaulting women and getting away with it.

Yet white Christian evangelical voters were among his most enthusiastic supporters in the 2016 election. Despite Trump's many failings of character, temperament and policy as president, they remain loyal members of his political cult. Why is this?

A new article by social scientists Andrew Whitehead, Joseph Baker and Samuel Perry in the journal Sociology of Religion offers several possibilities. The researchers explained their findings in a recent article for the Washington Post, writing that "the more someone believed the United States is — and should be — a Christian nation, the more likely they were to vote for Trump."

Much has been written about Donald Trump and the Republican Party's authoritarian efforts to subvert and destroy American democracy, and their alliances with right-wing gangster capitalists such as the Koch brothers. But the enormous role played by evangelicals in Trump's victory -- and in his enduring core of support -- has not received as much attention from the mainstream news media.

In all, it is increasingly clear that with Trump as the figurehead and Vice President Mike Pence as the puppet-master, Christian evangelicals have successfully completed a soft coup in America.


https://www.salon.com/2018/04/05/have-christian-nationalists-staged-a-soft-coup-with-trump-as-their-figurehead/

[Adrahil]

1. Not complete yet, IMHO.

WE still have a chance to stop this dead. Nov 2018. Signs are good we can make a difference. We shall see.

[workinclasszero]

6. The salvation of democracy and the rule of law

rest on the results of the fall elections.

No hyperbole, a fact.

The vote every democrat casts, or doesn't cast, will be the most important one they ever make.

We need a dem GOTV operation that is unprecedented in scope because the koch bros, Mercer, Bannon, Sinclair, Fox and untold numbers of Russian trolls will be pulling out all the stops to keep their puppet party and president in full power.

[Funtatlaguy]

2. We are a Christian nation.....thats their goal.

In God We Trust on the money and on car license plates
One nation under God pledge.
They desperately want prayer back in public schools or the elimination of public schools.
They already allow prayer at sporting events.

We allow all types of religion and freedoms. We should.
But we (as a government) ARE secular. We should promote no religion.

[ck4829]

3. It's the greatest irony - God is on the money, but not in the hearts of those who print the money

[Achilleaze]

4. Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, they plan, will help trigger Armageddon

In the self-fulfilling cosmology of doom so passionately embraced by evangelical republicans & allied cults, we've got to have the ULTIMATE FIREY HATE-DRIVEN WAR OF WARS before their particular god can return, scoop them up, and help them all escape to a soft, pillowy WHITE cloud somewhere.

Meanwhile, the TaliBornAgain republicans can revel in their imagined outcome: that all the people they don't like are cosmically ordained to writhe in a eternal miserable suffering agonizing hell (so the "elect" can smarmily sneer and smirk at them.

[Iliyah]

5. And BiBi and his crew don't realize that?

Sad.

[Initech]

7. That is why they love this guy.

He will help accelerate and facilitate their dream of getting raptured. And since Trump is very easily manipulated, he will do what they tell him to do. We have to get back in power and kick these assholes out of the White House.