Evangelicals globally are divided over Trump. But whatever our views, we can represent the gospel better by adopting a more servantlike politics.
The frontpage of France's Le Monde newspaper after the 2024 election in the US. / Photo: [link]The Now Time[/link], Unsplash, CC0.
On Monday, the second inauguration of Donald Trump as United States president introduced a new chapter in the puzzling relationship between Trump and evangelical Christians.
Much of the world struggles to understand why a bombastic man who took steps to overturn the 2020 election after losing it, encouraged a riot at the US Capitol, has now pardoned the rioters (even those who attacked police officers), has talked about using military force in Greenland and Panama, and is threatening to slap tariffs on his friendly neighbors in Canada still receives such strong support from evangelicals.
[destacate]Many Christians who do not admire Trump have still felt obliged to vote for him in a two-party system where the other party has moved far to the left on abortion, sexuality, and “woke” issues[/destacate]The story is not quite so simple, as I explained in a November essay for the World Evangelical Alliance’s theology journal. For example, Trump has strong support among white evangelicals but not among black evangelicals. In some instances, “evangelical” has become as much a political label as a religious one, as many Trump supporters who identify as evangelical do not attend church. (However, a Pew Research Center poll last September found that evangelicals who attended church backed Trump in even greater percentages than those who did not.)Globally, opinions among Christians are divided. A Christianity Today article after Trump’s re-election described favorable reaction to his victory among evangelicals in Iran, Nepal, Kenya, and the Philippines but markedly less enthusiasm in the UK, South Africa, Japan, and Brazil.
The general pattern seems to be that in countries with religious persecution or where most Christians resist LGBT legitimacy, Trump’s win was widely welcomed; in more culturally progressive nations where Trump’s perceived close relationship with evangelicals is a source of embarrassment, his victory perpetuated the problem.
[destacate]There is great diversity among Christians but all should embody the gospel through their love, respect, and compassion for every human made in the image of God[/destacate]This pattern reminds us that even though all Christians are supposed to be teammates on the kingdom-of-God team, their views are significantly shaped by their own local cultural context. Globally, there is great diversity among Christians—and there should be, since two billion people are united by their faith in Jesus Christ, not by their political, cultural, or gastronomic preferences.
But all Christians, regardless of their views on other topics, should embody the gospel through their love, respect, and compassion for every human made in the image of God.
I attended an academic panel discussion shortly after the US presidential election. When I spoke with the organizer afterwards, we agreed that the panel was skewed—none of the four participants were happy that Trump won. But we also agreed that it would have been nearly impossible to find a Trump defender, especially a Christian Trump defender, willing to engage in a friendly, respectful, well-informed, constructive conversation.
That’s sad.
[destacate] A large segment of Christians becomes so ensnared in polarizing culture wars—or so distanced from civil discourse—that reasonable people don’t invite them into conversations[/destacate]Trump supporters aren’t the only reason for that problem. They have often been victims of mistreatment and disrespect by elites in the media, academic, and entertainment sectors. But when a large segment of Christians becomes so ensnared in polarizing culture wars—or so distanced from civil discourse—that reasonable people don’t invite them into conversations, they may not be helping their cause.
This is likely one main reason why, in a Pew poll two years ago, evangelicals had the highest unfavorable ratings among major US religious groups. The results would have been even worse if not for the fact that evangelicals had high opinions of themselves.
Where can we go from here, so as to represent the gospel well in the age of Trump—whether we like his policies or not? I have two suggestions.
[destacate]Where we do enter the political realm, we should do so with a spirit of public service, not grievance[/destacate]First, as political writer Tim Alberta has urged, we should reflect on the risks of political power, noting that Jesus rejected the political agendas of some of his own disciples, and recall that the early church succeeded through its remarkable love and generosity, not power plays.
Second, where we do enter the political realm, we should do so with a spirit of public service, not grievance and anger.
Even if we feel exasperated by Trump’s unlikely to return to power and its potential risks, we should maintain patient, grace-filled faith in a sovereign God whose plan and power are greater than Trump’s.
Bruce Barron, author or coauthor of seven books on religion and politics and a former US congressional aide, was editor of the World Evangelical Alliance’s theology journal from 2018 to 2024. Subscribe to his blog at brucebarron.substack.com.
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