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If Evangelical voters contacted their religious leaders instead of their political representatives, they might learn that they've made party to a devil's bargain.
As a Christian, I would say the bigger blasphemy from Trump is saying he has nothing to ask forgiveness for, while representing himself as a Christian. That's literally a claim to divinity.
And worse than the blasphemy is how he treats his neighbors.
And worse than the blasphemy is how he treats his neighbors.
But to the Evangelicals... well, if ever there was a cause for the use of the phrase "virtue signalling", the public performance of conservative Christianity would be it.
When you believe that salvation through grace alone makes any mention or contemplation of good works suspicious, you need to find other ways to mark yourself as part of the in-group.
Racism, adultery, whatever. Those are private sins, between you and your savior.
Racism, adultery, whatever. Those are private sins, between you and your savior.
But swearing? Taking the Lord's name in vain? That's public. A dividing line between The Saved and everyone else on this fallen earth.
Now, over time some of the top thinkers of conservative Christianity have pivoted from "Trump is one of us!" (Dobson went so far as to say that Trump had confessed his sins and asked forgiveness in private, which was a lie) to "God sent Trump to do these things for us"...
...to "well, at least he doesn't insult us by pretending to know better than we do about morality", but I would bet to the rank and file Evangelical voter who is deep in MAGA fervor, the pivot never registered.
They still expect better from him, as a Christian, than blasphemy.
They still expect better from him, as a Christian, than blasphemy.
And so they are upset at having their Real True Christian President behave in a way that contradicts that.
But if they took their concerns to the moral thought leaders at the top of the Christo-Republican political axis, I believe they would be in for a ruder shock still.
But if they took their concerns to the moral thought leaders at the top of the Christo-Republican political axis, I believe they would be in for a ruder shock still.
You cannot serve two masters. This is an article of Christian faith, and the logic behind it is sound: when your obligations to the two come into conflict, you'll have to side with one, and so that one winds up being your one master. Alternately, you never truly serve either.
Back in the era of Roe v. Wade, the religious leadership made a deal with the Republican Party in order to increase the power of both.
Political power, earthly power, is now the master of the Evangelical movement. Its leaders have turned their back on Christ to become Caesar.
Political power, earthly power, is now the master of the Evangelical movement. Its leaders have turned their back on Christ to become Caesar.
And as always, Trump is the funhouse mirror of the Republican Party: reflecting them, but in a way that is magnified and distorted.
Because Trump always doubles down, always pushes the boundary, and always makes subtext text...
Because Trump always doubles down, always pushes the boundary, and always makes subtext text...
...and because Trump cannot stand being aligned with people who aren't 100% his, he has from the start refused to play the part of a penitent or humble Christian and refused to jump through hoops for the Evangelicals, forcing them to come to him instead of meeting him half way.
So now we've reached the point where Trump is master for the Evangelical movement, where they have accepted this uniquely sinless man as their substitute savior, their makeshift messiah, their governmental god.
And again, if Evangelicals concerned over his swearing oaths were to go to their own leadership and ask, "What are we going to do about this?" or "How can we support this?"...
They'd learn that as far as the leadership is concerned, Trump is king.
They'd learn that as far as the leadership is concerned, Trump is king.
Trump is not the instrument of divine will, he's the hand and they're the tools.
And anything they were told matters, anything they were taught to care about, can and will be thrown away in service to their master.
And anything they were told matters, anything they were taught to care about, can and will be thrown away in service to their master.
The awful thing here is, I wouldn't care to guess how many votes this would cost him. A lot of people won't leave the identity they've invested their whole being into just because it's been exposed as a hollow lie.
Instead, they'll move into the hollow and embrace the lie.
Instead, they'll move into the hollow and embrace the lie.
To sum up: it is a big deal that Trump is getting a reputation for blasphemy among Evangelical voters, it may become more of a thing because once he's aware some of his minions have an opinion about how he comports himself he's likely to do it more and in more obvious ways...
...but it's not likely to actually fracture the alliance with the Evangelicals because they chose their master decades ago and it was temporal power, but it may disillusion some "values voters" and slightly impact turnout on his side.
If you get anything from my analysis, please support it as you can. It's been a long, hard summer and as the hymn goes, "I've got bills to pay, I've got mouths to feed, there ain't nothing in this world for free."
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