1/ I've been logging & coding the hundreds of responses here (nerds gotta nerd) and wanted to pass along some initial observations.
The two most common reasons ppl stopped voting "GOP because I'm Christian" were: 1) exposure to diverse ideas & communities; and 2) Trump.
The two most common reasons ppl stopped voting "GOP because I'm Christian" were: 1) exposure to diverse ideas & communities; and 2) Trump.
2/ Both involve questioning what you've always been told. Many people reported moving to another city or country, teaching kids of different races, having conservations with Democrats & liberals--basically, meeting those they'd known only as caricatures and realizing, Nope.
3/ Trump precipitated or accelerated that process for many Christians. Vocal support (or conspicuous silence) from conservative Christian figures for someone who made such a mockery of the gospel was too hard to ignore. And once you start to ask questions, it unravels quickly.
4/ That doesn't mean the unraveling happened before the 2016 election--for many respondents, their conversion took place once Trump was in office. But the past 3+ years have only caused them to question more conservative Christian justifications for voting GOP.
5/ Significant numbers of you also reported leaving the GOP over the Iraq War, the party's (and conservative Christianity's) response to police brutality and Black Lives Matter, and realizing that the abortion issue had become a way to control your votes.
6/ With the exception of abortion, each of these point to the weakness of many conservative Christian arguments about why people of good faith must vote GOP--they often rest on either demonization of the "other" or mythologizing of their own values. If either are exposed...*poof*
7/ Which brings us to abortion. For many Christians, the Religious Right has been an abusive partner who tells you that however bad you think things are, you don't have any choice but to stay with them. What are you gonna do? Vote for those pro-abortion baby killers? Really?
8/ Now we can talk about "whole life" and how that frame makes it difficult for many Christians to support GOP policies, but I want to stick with just abortion. If how a party talks about abortion is most important to a self-identified pro-life voter, then voting GOP makes sense.
9/ But if instead that pro-life voter cares about the impact of a party's policies, well then, we have decades of hard numbers showing that Democratic social & economic policies have dramatically reduced abortion rates. They plateau under Republican policies.
10/ I have many, many threads about this for those who are skeptical. See:
11/ The GOP and Religious Right cannot afford to lose this lock they have on so many Christian votes. Their manipulation of abortion as a political issue has been key to maintaining their hold on power structures.
So buckle up for some high-level demonization through November.
So buckle up for some high-level demonization through November.
12/ Anyway, these are just some early takeaways from your responses. Sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to share. It's hard to question a part of your identity, especially if you conclude that you've made mistakes. I don't take your honesty and openness lightly. 🙏
