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While many commentators have insisted that the ancients President Trump has been radioactive since evangelical Christianity, pushing Americans away from the faith, recent data from the Pew Research Center suggests that more Americans adopted the evangelical etiquette during the Trump years.
While 25% of white Americans identified themselves as born again Protestants or evangelicals in 2016, 29% of them identified themselves as such in 2020, according to Pew. The survey found that 2% of white Americans who identified as born again Protestant / evangelical in 2016 no longer did so in 2020, but 6% of white Americans who did not describe themselves as evangelical in 2016 had adopted this identity by 2020.
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Additionally, 16% of white Americans who did not identify as evangelical in 2016 but expressed a warm opinion of Trump then identified themselves as evangelical in 2020. However, only 1% of white Americans who consistently expressed cold opinions or neutrals on Trump adopted the evangelical level between 2016 and 2020.
Although more white Americans who opposed Trump (12%) stopped identifying themselves as evangelicals between 2016 and 2020 than those who supported Trump (7%), Pew concluded that the difference was in the margin. error.
Pew Research Center graphic showing white Americans embracing evangelical etiquette between 2016 and 2020
(Pew Research Center)
Sixty percent of self-identified white evangelical voters pulled the lever for Trump in 2016 and 2020, while 18% of them voted for Trump in 2020 after failing to do so in 2016. Only 9% of voters White evangelicals defected from Trump during this period, and the remaining 13% did not vote for Trump in any of the elections.
While the poll may sound like good news for evangelical Christianity, it only measured whether or not Americans identify as evangelical Christians, not if they have biblical beliefs or actively practice discipleship following Jesus Christ. The Family Research Council’s Center for Biblical Worldview commissioned a to study finding that while 51% of American adults claim to have a biblical worldview, only 6% of them answered questions about the worldview in a manner consistent with the Bible.
When Fox News asked Franklin graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the global charity Samaritan’s Purse, what that means for the argument that Trump’s presidency has weakened evangelical Christianity, he replied, “I don’t think so that the numbers back it up, right? “
Pew Research Center showing how many self-proclaimed Evangelical Protestants voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020
(Pew Research Center)
Graham, a longtime Trump supporter, noted that the former president had kept his promises to protect Christians, particularly in the case of Andrew Brunson, an American pastor imprisoned in Turkey who was released after Trump took over. imposed sanctions on the regime. He hailed Trump as a champion of religious freedom for all Faith, including the Jews, hindus and Muslims.
“I saw Democrats and Republicans in the past they’ve preyed on people of faith, but they really don’t want people of faith around them. Trump has welcomed people of faith, “he said. Graham called Trump a” great encouragement “, a” president ready to fight for us. “
While the evangelical leader praised Trump, he also encouraged Christians to pray for President Biden. “He needs our prayers, and that’s for sure,” Graham said. “The Bible tells us to pray for those in authority. He has authority and we should pray for him.”
Graham concluded by pointing out where Christians place their ultimate hope. “Even though things seem hopeless right now in some areas, I haven’t given up hope. My hope is in God, it’s not in Washington, it’s in God,” he said.
Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said the Pew poll shows the strength of evangelical Christianity, beyond politics.
“Evangelical Christianity remains a central and vital force in America precisely because it defines Christians who believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and eagerly assert the authority of the Bible as the Word of God,” said Mohler at Fox News. “This latest Pew report underscores the continued strength of evangelism and the fact that even more Americans are defining themselves as evangelicals.”
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“Cries of evangelical decline are fueled by the theological left and by liberal academics and media sources singing the same song they have sung since the 1970s. They hope that by saying that evangelicals are in decline, they will be able to do so, ”he insisted. .
“The most important issue here is Jesus saving sinners – and this is the great good news that defines evangelicals,” Mohler added. “My great concern is to encourage evangelicals to be even more evangelical – committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no life in liberal theology and, despite the great hope of the left, there is no life in liberal theology. there is no resurgence of liberal Christianity. “
Reverend Adam Russell Taylor, president of Sojourners, a left-wing Christian organization, lamented that the Pew poll suggests Americans think of their faith in political terms.
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“I think what this data illustrates is the extent to which white evangelicals increasingly think of their faith in political terms as opposed to basic theological or religious terms,” said Taylor, who just published the book. A More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building Beloved Community. ” “We must resist the temptation to have our faith co-opted by politicians. The role of the church in society, as Dr King often said, is to be the conscience of the state, not the master or servant of the state.
“For Christians, wrapping God or the cross in the American flag, or any flag, is dangerous,” Taylor added. “We must resist trying to co-opt God into a political party or into our narrow national interests. We are a nation under God; we sometimes act as if we are a nation in which God is under us.”
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