Donald Trump has promised to be a dictator on “day one” of his administration. Based on his already-announced plans and those in process, Trump, like other autocrats and authoritarians, means what he says. His words and statements should be understood both literally and figuratively. Trump’s (and the Republican Party’s and the “conservative” movement’s) models of leadership are Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán. Trump and his MAGA presidential administration and movement will attempt to remake American society in their mold — and do so very quickly.
Trump’s White Christian voters are the base of his support. He would not have been elected without them. Professor Ryan Burge, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, told The Salt Lake Tribune, “It’s hard to overcome the white God gap…in a place like Pennsylvania or Michigan and Wisconsin.” White Christians are now literally and metaphorically Trump’s biblical "arrows" and "armor." For example, on Jan. 6 White Christian extremists were in the vanguard of the attack on the Capitol and attempt to end America’s multiracial pluralistic democracy. Christian extremists also play a central role in the right-wing paramilitary and “militia” movement more broadly. Research by Robert P. Jones of PRRI shows that White Christians (specifically, members of the White Christian Right and Christian Nationalists) are more likely to be authoritarian and to endorse the use of political violence than are other Americans.
Given his behavior and values, many in the mainstream news media remain perplexed by Trump’s popularity among White Christians. After over eight years and Trump’s imminent return to the White House, this response is now mostly performative; an act of willful ignorance and denial. Ultimately, the explanation is basic and the root of politics and power: Trump has promised and is giving White Christians what they want, and in return, they are supporting him.
Trump wants unlimited power. White Christians (especially the Christian Right and Christian Nationalists) want the power to control what they describe as the “7 Mountains” or spheres of society: religion, government, family, education, media, business and arts and entertainment. They seek to impose their theocratic vision on the United States and its people. Trump did not seduce or trick White Christians into supporting him and the MAGA movement. It was a mutual agreement based on shared interests.
The American people are going to find out very soon what life will be like under such a regime. It will be no heavenly paradise.
The Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is the president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance. An ordained Baptist minister, he works with affiliates, networks, and leaders in Washington, D.C., and across the country to forge powerful alliances among people of diverse faiths and beliefs to build a resilient, inclusive democracy and uphold religious freedoms. He hosts the weekly podcast and radio show “The State of Belief”, distributed by Religion News Service, holding weekly conversations with inspiring spiritual leaders, civic exemplars, artists and activists. Prior to coming to Interfaith Alliance, Rev. Raushenbush served as senior vice president of the Auburn Seminary and as the founding and executive editor of HuffPost Religion. He is regularly invited to offer commentary on issues of religion and civil rights in national outlets including CNN, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, NPR, New York Times, Washington Post, the Guardian and Religion News Service. He has published two books and contributed essays to several volumes on faith in public life.
In this conversation, Rev. Raushenbush explains how the deeply corrupt and dangerous relationship between the Christian Right, Trumpism and the larger authoritarian project came into being and how it imperils American democracy and freedom. He warns that many members of the Christian Right literally believe that Trump has been sent to them by God so that they can impose their will on American society and see themselves as being in a type of holy war against the “Satanic” forces of “the Left,” “secular society,” and “liberals and progressives.” At the end of this conversation, Rev. Raushenbush reflects on what it means to be a “good Christian” in this time of democracy crisis and the Age of Trump.
This is the second of a two-part conversation:
Given his values, behavior and politics, how was Donald Trump able to win a majority of White Christians across almost all denominations? How do they reconcile such a decision given their supposed faith commitments and beliefs?
For those who are not true MAGA believers, but who voted for Trump, I think there is a sense of fear of a changing nation. They feel like they are no longer sure of their place in American society. They believe that people like them are being displaced by some type of Other. They are worried about not being at the center of American identity going forward and instead being just one small part of a wider tapestry in America.
Trump has been very clear in his promises to represent White Americans and White Christian Americans, specifically. Trump is basically saying — and, in some cases, has literally said — “I am your protector and defender. I will save you, Christians.” Trump tells them that he is their savior and salvation and that if they don’t choose him then Christians are going to be victimized and oppressed in America. He says, “I will put you in positions of national power.” Trump is also putting the Christian Right in positions of great power in his administration. They are expecting that the Christian Right’s version of Christianity, White Christian Nationalism, will be made the official religion of the country under Trump.
Today’s White Christian Nationalists are very extreme and emboldened by Trump. They see women in power and they want to subjugate them. They see gay people living their lives and being happy and they want to take that away. It is a personal offense to them. Gay people — especially transgender people — should not exist in the world that these Christian Nationalists want to create. They hold up the Bible as proof that transgender people are some sort of violation of God’s Will. The Christian Right sees Trump as a way of imposing power over all of American society and life. Many of their leaders truly believe that God has sent Trump to them. Trump is a way for the Christian Nationalists to create their version of America — white male-dominated and controlled by people like them. As we saw on Jan. 6, there is a very militant, violent and dangerous component to Christian Nationalism in the Age of Trump, where they are willing to do whatever it takes to get and keep power. They believe they are in a type of holy war against satanic forces, which they equate with “the left,” and that Trump is a tool of prophecy.
Once somebody summons God or faith in a discussion of politics and society as some type of ultimate truth claim or proof there is nothing more to discuss, because you can't win that argument. That is one of the main reasons that religion and real democracy are incompatible.
If someone is summoning God to use that as a way of dictating to others, imposing their will on them, then there is no room for compromise. There's no way to forge a consensus or even have a meaningful conversation.
I believe that there are many ways that faith can positively impact democracy, but it must be in a way that is mindful and respectful of the role of religion and communities of faith within a broader democracy. This is quite different from imposing one’s religious views on others. Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement and Black Prophetic tradition are an example of how to do this.
Please translate for those people who are not conversant in the language of the Christian Right, specifically, and the Christian fundamentalists and other Biblical literalists more broadly. For example, they consistently describe the Democrats, liberals, progressives, and “the Left” as being “Satanic” and “evil.” Trump of course does not believe any of this stuff, but it is a powerful weapon he used for great impact. The Christian Right also talks about and uses “spiritual warfare” in support of Trump and MAGA. People, especially in the mainstream news media and political class, tend to laugh at and mock such thinking and language. It is deadly serious and one of the ways that Trump was able to take the White House.
Those who are unfamiliar with the world of the Christian Right, with how these fundamentalists and literalists see reality and politics, are missing so much of the intentionality behind Trump and his use of language. For example, Trump said that Harris is a “Jezebel.” In a biblical framework, Jezebel and her people must be destroyed.
Christian Nationalists and other members of the Christian Right literally believe that they are talking to God and that God is telling them what to do. In their minds, God is telling them to make the country into a White Christian Theocracy. This “kingdom of God” is not metaphorical. When these Christian Nationalists talk about “God’s armor” and “arrows” their allusions to violence are not metaphorical. We saw this on Jan. 6.
They have a worldview where a person is either on God's side or you're on the Devil’s side. The Christian Right describes their strategy and goal for taking over American society as “the Seven Mountains.” These mountains encompass every aspect of life and society. It's not only government. It's also entertainment. It's economics. They are trying to take over the levers of society. These plans are very real and are accelerating thanks to Trump’s victory in the 2024 election.
What is “Christian Nationalism”? Why is it a bad thing and antithetical to a healthy democracy and society?
Christian Nationalism has been mainstreamed now; not too long ago it was on the fringe of both politics and the church. Trump’s nominees and other leading Republicans now brag that they are Christian Nationalists. Christian Nationalists are people who believe that the United States was founded for Christians, that Christians have a continued privileged position in this country, and that maintaining the blessing of God for this country is dependent on the US maintaining specific kinds of Christian identity and Christian laws.
In truth, of course, America was NOT founded as a Christian nation. The First Amendment guarantees against exactly that kind of theocracy, with the non-establishment clause — it is one of the most important and positive things that the founders of this country said and did. Additionally, from a Christian theological perspective, the idea that God favors one country over another goes directly against Jesus' teachings. There is no basis in Christian thought for it and it is blasphemous at its core.
Christian Nationalism has a deep and ugly history in this country, even if ugly, racist language is not always used directly or publicly by its leaders or followers. White Christian Nationalism supported White-on-Black chattel slavery and saw it as part of the “civilizing” mission for Christians. White Christian supremacy was also the backbone of the Confederacy and the Ku Klux Klan. Christian Nationalists opposed the Civil Rights Movement and supported Jim Crow. In total, Christian Nationalism is a white identity movement that emphasizes patriarchy, xenophobia, nativism, and White Christian supremacy.
The Jesus Christ of the Bible is not a gangster capitalist. The society, politics and community he modeled was that of a humane society that showed care and concern for the poor and the vulnerable. There are many progressive Christian faith communities. But the public face of Christianity in America at present and since at least the 1980s is the Christian Right. How did this branding and capturing of American Christianity take place?
Much has been written about this. The basic story I would offer is that in the 1970s and 1980s, certain personalities rose to prominence through their skillful use of the news media, in particular cable news. Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell are the most prominent examples. These very conservative Christian voices, almost all of them white men, created their own media empires. The mainstream news media piggy-backed onto those figures and networks, finding them compelling and attention-grabbing. They wanted access to those voices. Falwell was represented by many as representing “Christianity,” rather than just one particular subset of American Christians. The Christian Right continued to grow those networks and present itself as the face of “real” Christianity in America.
Trump has basically said to this movement: I have something you want, which is political power, and you have something I want, which is the people who can help give me that power. They made a Faustian bargain together. You can spend a billion dollars like Harris and the Democrats did to try to mobilize voters, or you can leverage the preexisting media apparatus, congregational networks, and other trusted voices on the Christian Right to do that work for you — to get their people to support you at the polls. The White Christian leaders told their faith community that Donald Trump is going to protect them from Armageddon and Satan. Predictably, they voted for Trump.
What is actually happening right now in states like Oklahoma, Texas, and Florida where the Christian Nationalist regime is taking over? Specifically, what about these “Trump Bibles”? It sounds like a bad joke, but it is all very real.
Trump created and sold a Bible that also features various “sacred” American documents such as the Declaration of Independence, alongside the text of the Bible itself. Putting secular documents together with the Holy Bible is technically an act of blasphemy. The Bible certainly does not need the Constitution to validate its spiritual power and authority, and the Constitution does not need the Bible to validate its own authority.
It has now been mandated that public schools in Oklahoma must incorporate the Bible into their curricula. The legislatures in Texas and in Florida have passed laws that allow schools to replace school counselors with untrained “chaplains.” These chaplains are not prohibited from proselytizing to students. This agenda is being pushed by extreme right-wing Christian political activists. Imagine this scenario: a child is in crisis and needs a professional and properly trained counselor to help them. Instead, they are directed towards an untrained chaplain, who can use that opportunity to proselytize too or religiously coerce the child — and certainly won’t be able to provide them with the type and level of care that they need. Most parents would likely object to that, viewing religion as a matter for the home.
There is deep hypocrisy here for those on the right who are always condemning “big government” infringing on their “freedom,” but then seek to make public schools into places where their particular religion is imposed on all students. In Louisiana, the schools, up to the college level, are under pressure to display the 10 Commandments in the classroom. This is an agenda for government-mandated prayer. It’s bad for schools, bad for teachers, bad for parents and bad for children.
The Constitution has the Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from “establishing” a national religion. There is separation of church and state in this country. There are to be no religious tests for public office. The Framers were explicit in this regard. Yet, here we are.
The white Christian Nationalist agenda is advancing. We are also seeing so many efforts to ban books and to make it illegal to teach the real complicated history of this country — because it may hurt white people’s feelings, or undermine their political worldview. This is an Orwellian Theocratic project.
What does it mean to be a “good Christian” in this time of crisis and trouble?
If you can't find a way to love your neighbor right now, then consider not describing yourself as a “good Christian.” Being a good Christian in this moment means embracing and harnessing the radical power of love. This can play out in both public and private ways. Publicly, it will mean standing in solidarity with the individuals and groups who are going to be targeted by Trump and his MAGA movement. We are in a moment that Jesus’ teachings and the teachings of the prophets were meant for. What does it actually mean to say blessed are the poor and woe to the rich? What does it really look like to welcome the stranger? What does it mean to do as Jesus did when he broke bread with the outcast and forgotten and called them his beloved? What does it mean to not judge but to love? How do we use the teachings of Jesus against those who claim his name but show themselves as hypocrites when it comes to his teachings and actions? In Matthew 23 Jesus says: "Woe to you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as fit for hell as you are!”
What about the self-described “good Christians” who voted for Donald Trump?
Being a good Christian is not a label or an identity. Being a good Christian is shown through one’s actions. That is what the Bible actually teaches us. Matthew 7 warns: “You shall know them by the fruits — a good tree (faith) shall bear good fruit; a bad tree will bear bad fruit.” What we are seeing with MAGA Christian nationalism is a bad tree and bad faith. When you see people attacking the Capitol with crosses used as bayonets, they are showing you the lethal fruit of their faith. When you see people spewing hate at trans people, causing people to die by restricting their access to abortion care, rounding up immigrants — they are showing you the poisonous fruits of their faith. When you see people attacking Black people, Jews, Muslims and other religious minorities, making excuses for rapists and misogyny and taking away economic protections for the poor and the weak — they are showing you the corrupt fruits of their faith.
What, if anything, gives you hope in this time of darkness and dread?
As long as there are good people who continue to work together towards a vision of democracy that uplifts and protects the dignity and equality of every person, then I will have hope. Trump has no real mandate for what he is planning — the actual plans that he has on these issues are unpopular and many people are about to remember exactly why he reached record levels of unpopularity when he last served as president. My biggest fear, on the other hand, is that we will allow ourselves to be intimidated into silence and obedience. As long as we can overcome this fear and continue to join together to speak out and take against the Christian nationalist agenda, I believe we can and will eventually prevail.
