Could the shameful Evangelical support of Donald Trump be the cause of the thousands of people falling away from religion?
Remember during the political fight to allow marriage equality when the Evangelicals' motto was "Marriage is between one man and one woman. Period?"
Now the Evangelicals support a man whose "marriage" has been between three wives, porn stars and several mistresses. Think about the outrage from the religious right during Monicagate but the deafening silence from those same folks on Trump's sordid and salacious sexcapades during his three marriages?
That could be one reason that thinking people turn away from religion. Hypocrisy. Hypocrisy in all religious sects -- the Catholic hierachy that knew about the sexual abuse of children and kept quiet; Islam, the religion that forces women into second-class citizenship, even punishing women with death for being raped; and the Evangelicals who continue to support a serial adulterer, liar, and business cheat.
The Number of Americans with No Religious Affiliation Is Rising
The rise of the atheists By Michael Shermer |
Scientific American April 2018 Issue
"The Number of Americans with No Religious Affiliation Is Rising The rise of the atheists By Michael Shermer | Scientific American April 2018 Issue The Number of Americans with No Religious Affiliation Is Rising Credit: Izhar Cohen In recent years much has been written about the rise of the “nones”—people who check the box for “none” on surveys of religious affiliation. A 2013 Harris Poll of 2,250 American adults, for example, found that 23 percent of all Americans have forsaken religion altogether. A 2015 Pew Research Center poll reported that 34 to 36 percent of millennials (those born after 1980) are nones and corroborated the 23 percent figure, adding that this was a dramatic increase from 2007, when only 16 percent of Americans said they were affiliated with no religion. In raw numbers, this translates to an increase from 36.6 million to 55.8 million nones. Though lagging far behind the 71 percent of Americans who identified as Christian in the Pew poll, they are still a significant voting block, far larger than Jews (4.7 million), Muslims (2.2 million) and Buddhists (1.7 million) combined (8.6 million) and comparable to politically powerful Christian sects such as Evangelical (25.4 percent) and Catholic (20.8 percent).
This shift away from the dominance of any one religion is good for a secular society whose government is structured to discourage catch basins of power from building up and spilling over into people's private lives. But it is important to note that these nones are not necessarily atheists. Many have moved from mainstream religions into New Age spiritual movements, as evidenced in a 2017 Pew poll that found an increase from 19 percent in 2012 to 27 percent in 2017 of those who reported being “spiritual but not religious.” Among this cohort, only 37 percent described their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or 'nothing in particular. ' ”
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If the number of non-affiliated Americans is rising, the Evangelicals can look to themselves for betraying their moral values and thus turning millions of Americans off of a kind of religion that picks and chooses who is morally fit to lead a country, depending only on his or her political affiliation.
20 comments:
The trend of abandoning religion has been slowly building for centuries and has dramatically accelerated in the US in the last two decades. Trump, however, is certainly not helping. The fundies are so alarmed at the secularization of society that they've embraced this repugnant man in a naked bid to regain some power. The hypocrisy thus exposed isn't lost on younger Evangelicals, who are increasingly at odds with their elders over Trump.
Evangelists awe sheep and their leaders are heretics.
Infidel753 and Jerry, The Party of God has turned into The Party of Godawful under Trump, and they have only themselves to blame.
Those without faith can never understand faith
Faith, assuming it is faith as we understand Christ advocated is fine.
Some, myself included, do not feel the need for faith or religion to explain the universe and our place in it.
As science continues to push the boundaries of knowledge the trend will continue to bend away from religion and faith.
I'm not convinced tRump has had much, if any influence on this trend.
Anon... many who claim faith cannot see the damage that has been done to Christianity by the almost blind support of Donald Trump.
I am a man of faith... I spend my life serving as a missionary in another culture and I’m a pastor here in the states.
The evangelical embrace of DJT is the biggest crisis to hit the church in years. The decision to stand tight with a man who does not lose ve a he values we’ve historically valued, things like humility, sexual temperance and respect of others, is seriously harming our Christian witness.
To say otherwise is to deny reality...
Pastor Dave,
Where is it stated by the evangelical leadership that they support DJT. Is this a group an individual or what. Muslims supported obama, is that all Muslims or just a few. Catholics supported JFK even though he made DJT look saintly. Generalization are rampant within the leftist community but saying something doesn't make it so.
Dave, I don't think all of Christianity is harmed because of the group that continues to support an unprincipled, immoral man. The Evangelicals who disregard Trump's character for political power do not represent all Christians, just the ones who are not serious about what their faith teaches them.
Those folks are an example to all people, religious or nonreligious of how easily a charlatan can hoodwink people into believing his lies and chicanery. As Infidel753 said, the young people are able to see through Trump's dishonesty, personal and public, and that's why fewer people feel an afinity for any faith.
Jerry and Les, Trump has certainly done no favors for people of faith; he's made a mockery of it.
affinity
Dave, because of your political beliefs you shouldn't profess to speak for Christians as a whole. True believers and evangelical christians aren't sheep being lead to slaughter by Trump. And calling Trump the biggest crisis to hit the church in years may very well be your opinion but it's not based in any facts.
AnonymousDave Miller is perfectly capable of speaking for himself on this subject because he is a Christian pastor who, IMO, is the embodiment of what Christ called his followers to do, but as the blog owner, I will have this to say:
Dave's political beliefs do not prevent him from speaking the truth. Not all Evangelicals are smitten by Donald Trump, because more than a few (see below) see him for the dishonest and shameful person that he is. But there is no doubt that he's made a mockery of what Evangelicals are supposed to cherish and preach to people. The Christian Right eagerly took ownership as the keepers of Family Values. That they support and defend a man who pollutes the very idea of Christian family values by his degenerate behaviors is a misery on the whole evangelical movement. Many, many Christians DO believe that Trump has brought a crisis on the Church, including these Evangelical ministers:
Evangelical Leaders Say Christians Who Support Trump Face An Ethical Challenge
Also, why don't you use your name? Obviously you follow Dave and me on these blogs, otherwise you wouldn't be so knowledgeable about his political leanings and P.E.
skudrunner, the Pew Research center backs up Dave's claim that a majority of Evangelicals supported Trump in his election, despite his miserable family values. They went for him in a big way, more so than the once-married family man, Mitt Romney:
While earlier in the campaign some pundits and others questioned whether the thrice-married Trump would earn the bulk of white evangelical support, fully eight-in-ten self-identified white, born-again/evangelical Christians say they voted for Trump, while just 16% voted for Clinton. Trump’s 65-percentage-point margin of victory among voters in this group – which includes self-described Protestants, as well as Catholics, Mormons and others – matched or exceeded the victory margins of George W. Bush in 2004, John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012.
Can you tell the people here what your meaning is when you write that "the Muslims" supported President Obama? It sounds like you're implying that's a bad thing.
Your example of JFK is irrelevant because it wasn't public knowledge the way Trump's adulteries were during the campaign and are known now that a porn star, a playmate bunny, and several other women have come forward to tell us about his scabrous alley-cat behavior. Behavior the Goopers lost their minds over when Clinton was president but have no problem with now that their sexually degenerate president has an "R" after his name.
Let us not forget Trumps own public statements about how he treats women. https://youtu.be/NcZcTnykYbw
Well Skud, the numbers say more than 80% of white evangelicals supported, or voted for Trump in the 2016 elections.
These aren’t my numbers, they are widely known numbers and nit challenged by many credible sources.
So in a sense, yes, I would say any group who votes at 80% for any candidate should be known as supporting that candidate and his or her views, absent a denunciation of any views.
To date, the white evangelical leadership has not disavowed much of anything DJT has said or done.
Why is that??
Shaw et al... not just PEW, but PRRI and Barna all point to significant evangelical support for Trump both during and after the election.
Shaw,
"JFK is irrelevant because it wasn't public knowledge"
You can't believe that because it was public knowledge and actually received some press. I think what you meant to say was JFK wasn't relevant because he was a democrat.
You make a huge issue out of dJT's support by the evangelicals. Just because they voted for him doesn't mean they support his morals. Many support his policies not his ethics.
Can't find much argument that he is bringing NK and SC together, getting concessions out of China on trade and has spooked Mexico on NAFTA. He has also taken action against Russia and has accomplished more in 18 months than his predecessor did in 90.
If, as Reverend Dave, claims the majority of Evangelicals voted against -H- shows they care more about selecting a person who works for the middle class instead of berating them and playing to the millionaire coasties.
Anon... you have only a rudimentary understanding of my political beliefs.
I've worked on political campaigns for both Republican and Democratic presidents over the years. I've supported both Democratic and Republican Senators and Congressmen as well, depending on who I believed would do the better job for my state and our country at that time. I've also served in both liberal and conservative denominations and churches, white. black and Mexican churches and in positions as varied as janitor to missions pastor to youth pastor to Sunday School teacher.
While my life is lived every day in close connection to other Christians, I don't have to speak for them as a whole on this issue, because many white evangelicals have done that quite well themselves lately. Over the years, they've decided who is in the club, who we should vote for to be good loyal Christians, what morals we should have and believe it or not, when character matters in the White House and when it doesn't. Spoiler alert, it seems to depend on the capital letter after the name.
I don't know your beliefs at all, but anyone who cannot see that the elections of 2016 have not been phenomenally bad for the church and that as a result, we are seeing a crisis, is not taking in the data... from both inside and outside the church.
Pundits, polls, research, books, anecdotal evidence and declining numbers of young people and others in the pews serve as a warning to leaders across America that something very worrying is affecting the American church.
A huge majority of the data shows just how damaging Trump's election, despite his support for some evangelical positions, has been for the primarily white evangelical church.
If you want to call that opinion, fine... but it's not my opinion. It's the opinion of lots of experts and people who get paid a lot of $$$ to study this stuff and get the results and trends right.
Now, why not own up and put a name to your moniker? it would make communication so much easier.
skud: "You can't believe that because it was public knowledge and actually received some press. I think what you meant to say was JFK wasn't relevant because he was a democrat."
S.K. Yes I do believe that because I lived through that era. It was NOT widely known as DJT's adulteries and alley cat proclivities.
skud: "You make a huge issue out of dJT's support by the evangelicals. Just because they voted for him doesn't mean they support his morals. Many support his policies not his ethics."
S.K. Skud, you never give the Dems who supported Clinton a pass like that. You never miss a chance to refer to Clinton as "BJ." But now you're excusing a known louche because he gives the Republicans the agenda they want? Situational ethics at its best, skud!
Your claims on what #45 has done are a bit premature. He has not done any such thing. He's talked about them, but nothing concrete yet has happened. I'll believe his boasts when I see them come to fruition. Right now #45 has to handle his porn star problem and Mueller breathing down his neck.
Your last comment about the "millionaire coasties" is truly hilarious. If there's one person in this county who is the epitome of a rich coastie, it's Donald J. Trump --excuse me, not a "millionnaire coastie," a BILLIONAIRE coastie who doesn't care a fig about you or the middle class. He gave PERMANENT tax breaks to the 1%, but yours will be going away.
Shaw... here’s the issue conservatives fail to acknowledge. Yes, libs tar the party and their supporters with the sins and loose morals of Trump.
Because the GOP and conservatives began the belief, after 9/11 that failure by moderate Muslims, or others to publicly condemn the actions of terrorists, was tantamount to agreement and acceptance.
It's true, Dave. You know the bloggers who advocate for throwing every American Muslim out of the country because those people believe all Muslims are out to change the American way of life and to kill us. So, yes, those people paint with a very broad brush, and I've never seen skudrunner tell any of his far right buddies they shouldn't do that. Skud, however, never misses a chance to complain about anyone saying Evangelicals are hypocrites because of their allegiance to the morally bankrupt disaster in the White House. His way of dealing with that is to say JFK did it too.
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