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Research

Born Again with Trump: The Portrayal of Evangelicals in the Media

Eun-Young Julia Kim

Research Summary

Since Trump’s ascendancy in American politics and his subsequent election, a number of articles have surfaced in the media trying to explain evangelical voters’ support of Trump. This research identifies common descriptions of evangelicals by analysing 110 online articles published in a two-and-a-half-year period surrounding Trump’s presidential campaign and election. The results indicate that the answer to the question why evangelicals support Trump resides not so much in their theology, but in their aspirations for America and assumptions of what America should be like. They see Trump’s success as God’s gift, but because he has attributes opposite to those promoted by Christianity, they risk becoming a laughing stock.

Researchers

Eun-Young Julia Kim

Research Institution

Andrews University

What is this about?

This is about Trump’s election victory and subsequent presidency, and why Evangelical Christians in the USA tend to support him (though care is needed with the term Evangelical, as some do not – the tendency is strong in white, Republican groups). How are these people identified and described in the media? Why do they support Trump? What are the problems with squaring support for Trump with traditional Christian values?

What was done?

110 online articles published between January 2016 and June 2018 were analysed. These were coded, to isolate various categories and themes: characteristics of evangelicals, pursuit of political power and protection from perceived threats, belief in America as a Christian nation, political expediency and insensitivity to immorality and harm to others, voices from the other side (i.e. evangelicals dissenting from support for Trump).

Main findings and outputs

  • It is hard to identify evangelicals purely by theology – a third are black, and tend to be aligned with the Democrats – Evangelical Christianity is not monolithic, and different political and ethnic factors need to be acknowledged; those supporting Trump are described as white, conservative and right-wing, or far right-wing.
  • Several specific individuals are frequently named as part of media identification of this group, e.g. Jerry Falwell Jnr. These individuals serve on Trump’s evangelical advisory board. They may be mentioned for their controversial remarks, e.g. Jerry Falwell Jnr.: ““If more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in”.
  • The most frequently occurring theme was evangelicals’ sense of marginalisation because of the liberal policies of Obama and Clinton, and their support for a ‘strongman’ to protect them and legislate for their principles. The threats include immigration, abortion and same-sex marriage.
  • They do not see Trump as a moral examplar; they support him because they believe that he will legislate for a white, conservative, Christian nation.
  • They believe that Trump is divinely appointed. Franklin Graham: “He [Trump] did everything wrong, politically. He offended gays. He offended women. He offended the military. He offended black people. He offended the Hispanic people. He offended everybody! And he became president of the United States. Only God could do that.”
  • The stance taken by these groups, counter to the Gospel, harms their credibility.

Relevance to RE

The research should be of interest to RE teachers as it illustrates, vividly, religion’s continuing influence in the contemporary world. It also illustrates the need for religion to be viewed in the context of lived experience and commitment, connected to other aspects of life and society such as politics and values. It poses questions that need sensitive, skilled handling at upper secondary level. Why do some Christians support Trump whilst others oppose him? What does this reveal about the nature of Christianity? What are the likely social consequences of these different religious perspectives?

Generalisability and potential limitations

The researcher acknowledges that the findings arise from a limited data-set, but even so, they have evidently been identified with care, sensitivity and attention to detail. The article had been through anonymous peer review and editorial processes before publication.

Find out more

Eun-Young Julia Kim, ‘Born Again with Trump The Portrayal of Evangelicals in the Media,’ Journal of Religion and Society 21 (2019)

The article is available open-access at https://dspace2.creighton.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10504/122278/2019-33.pdf

 

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