Do Super Tuesday Results Confirm the Death of the Religious Right Movement?

By Alison Lesley --
03 Mar 2016 --

Super Tuesday Results – What do they say about religious and nonreligious voters

Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton had an eventful Super Tuesday night. Each of them captured seven states in the Republican and Democratic races, effectively gaining a lead over each of their remaining rivals. The polls paint a never before seen picture of the dramatic shifting of the American religious landscape. A number of conclusions can be had from the Super Tuesday results.

Do Super Tuesday Results Confirm the Death of the Religious Right Movement?[/tweetthis]

For the Democrats, Hillary Clinton spent a considerable amount of time inside churches in the week leading up to Super Tuesday. On February 28, she preached in two churches about kindness and love. The strategy was well planned out and effective. A majority of voters in the South, specifically among African-Americans, are known to be extremely devout. More than 80 percent of the religious Democratic voter decisively went for Clinton. The numbers also held true for other states like Arkansas, Virginia, Tennessee, and Texas.

It is apparent that this election shows all the symptoms of the death of the religious right. Perhaps Trump has sealed their fate. Tuesday and Wednesday have seen Evangelical Christians coming out and publicly denouncing Trump. Some are saying the real estate mogul epitomizes the opposite of Christian values. All hopes of the Bible belt anointing the God-fearing candidate came into thought as a large number of born again and evangelical Christians in Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, Vermont, and Massachusetts voted overwhelmingly for a candidate described by religious leaders as one who is happiest in a casino rather than a church.

According to Mark Silk of Trinity College, the religious right movement died due to natural causes. Its founding leaders have either died or retired, and its crusades, like the protest against same sex marriage appeared to be unwinnable. Silk teaches public life and religion.

Texas was the prominent prize and the majority of the Republican vote went to Ted Cruz. This is expected as Cruz is from Texas. He won 17 points more compared to Trump. Cruz will receive the support of 57 delegates from the state while Trump receives support from 20. Clinton from the Democrat Party will get the support of 122 delegates while Sanders, her nearest rival, bags only 48 delegates' support.

Sanders won by a convincing margin in Vermont, his home state. He white-washed Clinton and obtained the support of 10 allocated state delegates. Three super-delegates also supported Sanders, while Clinton has support of four.