‘I firmly believe that we – American Christians – and in truth, Americans of any Traditional faith and convictions – that we are now living in exile’ (Rod Dreher)
The United States of America, continues, to be Christian dominated, unusually so by comparison to other equally developed nations. Every President, and Vice President, has thus far been raised in families with affiliations to a Christian denomination, with only John F. Kennedy and Joe Biden being raised Catholic. A Gallup Poll in 2019 revealed that only 60% of American Citizens would be comfortable voting for an Atheist president[1]. Further studies have also revealed the general belief that candidates belonging to a religion are considered to be more trustworthy.[2]
In early September 2022, leading conservative politicians gathered in Miami, to form a new ideology for the American right wing. The future of which, involves a biblical battle toward the left. This foregrounds a narrative of being unafraid to use state power to thwart progressive goals, not just in government but within the private sphere. It was hosted by the Edmund Burke Foundation, and presented an ideology for a cohesive, nationalist agenda in light of Donald Trumps position in the GOP.[3]
“Without the Bible, there is no Modernity. Without the Bible there is No America” Hawley.
The aforementioned conference, was backed by large proportions of America’s right wing, including the Common-Sense Society, The Heritage Foundation, and the Conservative Partnership institute. Tom Klingenstein, the chairmen of the Claremont Institute, proclaimed buzzwords such as ‘white guilt’ as ‘killing’ conservative momentum. Suggesting former President Donald Trump to have had ‘just the constellation of assets that fit with our particular war’.3
It’s not unusual, throughout both history, and geography, for religion to be politicized, and particularly within elections, this often creates an air of voting for the ideologized, morally superior, Christian approved party. In response, Biden, the current US President, has issued a rally for support, in preserving fair democratic practices. Suggesting a dark warning that America could face political violence, Biden has aimed his address at the above, religious right and in an attempt to remain relatively neutral insisted:
“make no mistake, democracy is on the ballot for all of us”
The upcoming midterms, will determine control of Congress, and mark the first test of American democracy since the siege to the Capitol:
“I wish I could say the assault on our democracy had ended that Day” Biden Remarked. “But I cannot”[4].
In this speech, Biden hoped to pre-empt potential disinformation, noting that it takes time for votes to be accurately counted and confirmed. Concluding with remarks of a battle between democracy and autocracy, noting that America ought never to take the former for granted.
Pastor Luis Cabrera, who leads a Church in Southern Texas foresees a “godly wave” in the upcoming elections, particularly in his home state, where he has aimed for a flip to congregessional seats with familiar messages of family, faith, and patriotism. They believe that the aforementioned values have been abandoned and lost, in Democrats progressive policies.
“We’re going to take this country back for God and we’re going to fight for our piece of the land, for the American Dream… for our principles, our values, and our morals” Cabera.[5]
The messages that Cabera has chosen to surround, are those commonly felt within America’s Latino minorities, such as the freedom provided by America, family, and traditional religious values. While this all sounds fairly unprovocative on the surface, involving religious belief in politics has proven, time and time again to be dangerous. Not only does the politicization of religion contribute to greater political polarization as shown in the US presently, but it diminishes the ability of religious leaders to speak honestly about their views without risking being sucked into the political tornado. The consequence of increasing secularisation in the American states, is an increased state among the politically religious, that something is being taken from them, playing then on nostalgia and a fear of being left behind as society moves on. Whatever occurs in the upcoming midterms, one thing that the events have proven once again, are that the secular-religious cleavage in society, should seldom be used to motivate political decisions. That is not to say that the inspiriting and motivating nature of religion cannot be used to create good, but to use it to disprove the morality of another political wing, leads only to conflict.
[1] McCarthy, J. (2019) Less than half in the US would vote for a Socialist for President. https://news.gallup.com/poll/254120/less-half-vote-socialist-president.aspxn
[2] Clifford, S., & Gaskins, B. (2016). Trust Me, I Believe in God: Candidate Religiousness as a Signal of Trustworthiness. American Politics Research, 44(6), 1066–1097. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X15608939
[3] NBC News (2022) “The American Rights future involves waging a ‘religious battle’ against the left. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/american-rights-future-involves-waging-religious-battle-left-leaders-s-rcna48961
[4] The Guardian (2022) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/02/joe-biden-speech-political-violence-preserve-democracy-midterm-election
[5] Molina. Religion News Service. (2022) https://religionnews.com/2022/10/31/ahead-of-midterms-faith-plays-central-role-in-republican-efforts-to-win-latino-votes/
Mount Rushmore Photo – Dean Franklin, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Preacher Photo – National Archives at College Park, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Politics Unboxed 