The U.S. circus of religious nationalism
If Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa were sitting at a table talking U.S. politics, would Donald Trump fit in? Or would he hijack the conversation to persuade them that he is uniquely qualified to “make America great again”?
LORNA DUECK and STEPHEN LAZARUS
Lorna Dueck and Stephen Lazarus are producers at Context TV.
Contributed to The Globe and Mail
Published Monday, Jan. 25, 2016 6:00AM EST
Last updated Friday, Jan. 22, 2016 6:25PM EST
Last week, in speaking to the largest U.S. Christian school, the evangelically rooted Liberty University in Virginia, Mr. Trump said that should he rule from the White House, he would “protect Christianity.” We shuddered at the thought, chagrined as he described the ability “to say Merry Christmas in department stores” as the depth of the “protection” he was promising.
Welcome to the circus that has become religious nationalism and Mr. Trump’s attempt to grasp the loyalty of evangelical Christians. Evangelicals are a varied tribe; it’s a loose label that includes the hawkish Sarah Palin, who endorsed Mr. Trump last week, and the pacifist Jim Wallis who would not.
Pinning evangelical Christians to a unified opinion is like nailing jelly to the wall, but on Mr. Trump, opinion polls show he is incorrect to boast, as he did at Liberty University, “We’ve got the evangelicals!” All political candidates are invited to campaign at Liberty and the school says it endorses none, although Liberty’s president, Jerry Falwell Jr., gave an effusively supportive introduction of Mr. Trump, reminding us how out of step he may be with other evangelical leadership.
A World magazine monthly survey of evangelical leaders and influencers about their choice of presidential contenders, both Republican and Democrat, has consistently found Mr. Trump losing evangelical support, with 5 per cent or less backing him since the magazine’s polling began in July (Republican Marco Rubio, the Florida senator, has been the top choice for seven months running).
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/the-us-circus-of-religious-nationalism/article28355507/