EVANGELICALS IN THE WAKE OF TRUMP

What does evangelical mean in our society today?

Under the presidency of Donald Trump, the label evangelical became increasingly politicized in the United States with ripple effects around the world. Now that his team, which pollsters say had the support of the majority of white Evangelicals, has left the White House, what’s the new social context like for evangelical Christians and their institutions?

It’s something I’m often asked as a global ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance. People around the world scratch their heads when they hear about voting patterns among Evangelicals in the U.S. My view as a Canadian observer goes something like this.

For the last four years, many American Evangelicals have been caught up even more than usual in passionate contests about the role of faith in political policy and debate. When both sides claim theology and title as Evangelicals, it can be confusing for Evangelicals in other countries. And when the two sides treat each other badly, in un-Christlike ways, many of us feel embarrassed and worried about harm being done to the Church.

It has become common to hear people say that because of this entanglement they now either avoid the term evangelical or despise those who self-identify as one.

It’s hard to blame them when on the one hand some self-proclaimed prophets are declaring God’s anointing was on President Trump and that he would win a second term, while other Christians are calling him evil.

American history

Those of us on the outside, but still feeling the effects of this divide and its rhetoric,

will need to dig into some American history if we want to understand.

The United States of America was founded amid historic aspirations toward freedom, a founding myth that 20th-century leaders traced to John Winthrop’s famous statement in 1630 that they were “a city set upon a hill for all to observe.”

This powerful religious vision, filtered through the dynamism imparted by mass migration and vast resources, implanted in American rhetoric an ethos, a sense their land had special divine promise and design.

(Technically Winthrop was referring to all of God’s people wherever they lived, but his famous phrase came to mean something different than he intended.)

Coupled with a vision of a Christian land is the so-called manifest destiny impulse, an underlying belief that this was a country in which God Himself would dwell. Of all people of the world, therefore, America encourages in its citizens the concept that they are exceptional, a deeply held belief which strengthens this sense of destiny and calling.

The fact the U.S. has been predominantly Christian from its beginning has powerfully reinforced this belief. Even in an age of increased secularization, it still enjoys strong denominations and has many megachurches.

After the Second World War, the influence of the American South spread throughout the nation as many Evangelicals moved away from that region. White Evangelicals moved mostly to the West and Southwest, Black Evangelicals mostly to the North as well as the West.

And here is another major point of confusion. Pundits often speak of Evangelical as if it simply equalled white Evangelicals. But there are many African Americans, Latino and Latina Americans, Asian Americans, and Indigenous Americans who share evangelical beliefs and practices – but not the political loyalties of white Evangelicals.

This sort of background information can assist us in trying to understand the power and innovative skill of the American national persona, the unmatched creativity and productivity of Americans, and their unvarnished generosity and desire to be a force of good in the world.

A wounded country

American politics divides into two primary sides – the Republican Party or the

Democratic Party. In recent decades adherence to these parties has become much more important for defining social, cultural and religious convictions.

A generation ago, maybe 15 per cent in each party gravely distrusted members of the other party. Now it is way over 50 per cent with many using the term hate.

From the start of Trump’s rise to power, while a determined and loyal rank-and-file of white evangelical Republicans latched on to Trump’s populism, other Evangelical leaders were profoundly concerned and attempted to warn America.

A number of prominent pastors, educators and agency leaders were vocal in protesting that people were putting too much stock in one man. They critiqued those who attributed prophetic greatness to the president or the belief he was under a divine call. They also warned against giving loyalty to any political party, platform or leader a higher priority than loyalty to Christ.

Those on the Republican side warned that with a Biden administration there would be a flood of bills siding with pro-abortion financing and filtered by pro-gay policies designed to undermine religious freedom.

Today America is a wounded country. Many Evangelicals on both sides of the political aisle express embarrassment for having given uncritical support. Others continue to be angry that their candidate didn’t win. A large minority of Americans in general now have a profound distrust in their governmental institutions.

A different international scene

Because America is such a global cultural force and its role in evangelical expansion has been so influential, it is easy to overlook the fact that the real growth among Evangelicals recently has been in the Global South – Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Although the current malaise among American Evangelicals inevitably influences the rest of us to some extent, there is a strong tendency for the media to mistakenly assume a trend in the U.S. is the same elsewhere.

While a determined and loyal rank-and-file of white evangelical Republicans latched on to Trump’s populism, other Evangelical leaders were profoundly concerned and attempted to warn America.

But the United States is not the world. In a Christian community of 600 million Evangelicals, Americans don’t define who we are or should be for the rest of the world. As the term Evangelical has become mixed up with all sorts of political groups, views, public pressure and personalities, Evangelicals elsewhere in the world might do better to insist Christian belief and Christian practice deserve first place.

For Evangelicals outside the U.S., there are places other than the recent American history which will help us understand what it means to be “in the world, but not of the world.”

To Evangelicals in the Global South, the drive of the evangelical message is now so shaped by indigenous national leadership that the evangelical voice speaks with local accents rather than those we might be used to hearing from Americans or Europeans.

What’s in a name?

A nagging question coming out of the Trumpian mobilization, however, relates to the brand value of the name. Should we replace the name evangelical?

Some say the term lacks definition, has been co-opted by political debate, and is now driving some away from the gospel. Others, given this American debacle, feel the name has been simply emptied of its usefulness.

I disagree.

First, it’s a biblical name. The word euangelion or evangel, meaning the Good News, has been used for centuries, particularly for the followers of Martin Luther and then more broadly at the time of William Wilberforce. Today, in many parts of the world, it remains an important means of identity.

For example, if you are in a Muslim or Hindu majority country, and you are not Roman Catholic, Orthodox or liberal Protestant, what name do you use? As a threatened minority, the ability to identify with over 600 million fellow evangelical Christians provides shelter in identity and bonding in fellowship.

As a friend noted, every time a priest takes a misstep, do Roman Catholics wonder about a name change?

Who’s first?

One final point about political power. I write this particularly to my evangelical friends in the rest of the world. Let’s not think we’d never be tempted to use our church base and witness to gain political power. We have seen this happen in other countries – Kenya, South Korea and Brazil, to name a few. As the number of Evangelicals continues to grow, there is a natural inclination to turn size and presence into political power.

We may think the gospel inhibits us from being seduced by power, but it is helpful to recognize our own vulnerability as we seek to parlay our global growth into greater political influence for the good of the Kingdom rather than our own good.

Let’s consider the needs of American Evangelicals in this time of heart-wrenching reflection. They are in crisis. This is a moment that confronts them with a decision. Will humility and peace prevail? Or anger and self-righteousness?

Americans need space and time to make sense of the choices they confront. Let us pray they make choices based on the Christ they serve and the Bible they read. My prayer is that this hurtful and damaging American moment will be followed by a time of national confession, spiritual healing, and a resolute will to make their first priorities biblical in faith and Christ honouring in words and actions. www.FaithToday.ca/Podcasts.

Let’s consider the needs of American Evangelicals in this time of heart-wrenching reflection. They are in crisis. Will humility and peace prevail? Or anger and self-righteousness?