White Christian Americans Yearning for 1950s Are What Helped Trump Win Election

By Elisa Meyer --
06 Jan 2017 --

The fear that America is losing its Christian values to modern and foreign cultures may have driven white Christians to overwhelmingly support Trump.

It may have been surprising to many to see the majority of evangelicals supporting Donald Trump. The Republican was obviously not a very devout Christian, and definitely did not represent strong Christian values in his life. His three marriages, lack of knowledge on scripture and the accusations of sexual abuse that surfaced against him would have made most people think that the chances of him winning favor with the evangelicals were very low.

Now, it is guessed that Trump was chosen by so many evangelicals because they saw in him hope for an America they felt was long lost. A survey showed that 74% of white Americans felt that American society had changed for the worse. In contrast, 62% of African Americans and 57% of Hispanic Americans felt American society had changed for the better.

Having Trump elected after Obama is not a mistake. White America is angry that they do not have the same place in America they used to hold.
— busan babe™ (@melaninbarbie) December 27, 2016

This raises an interesting question – what exactly are white Americans upset about? And why is that their perception of society so different from the others?

The answer lies in America’s history, which has traditionally been Protestant-Christian. The American society of around 50-60 years ago belonged to the white Christian’s values. As the years passed by, new values emerged and existing conservative values were lost. According to Robert P. Jones, author of The End of White Christian America, public support for Christian values had drastically diminished, especially in the last two decades. For example, he points out that even in as recent as 2008, their voices against issues such as gay marriage were supported. Today, however, white Christians feel that America no longer cares about such core Christian values and the country is moving towards a society of “moral degeneration.”

When Trump, Ryan, Falwell & Graham speak of "Religious Liberty" what they mean is white America's liberty to expand Christian colonialism.
— Mark Charles (@wirelesshogan) December 27, 2016

It was this fear that their country would move away from Christian morals and get influenced by foreign cultures and religion that Trump tapped on to, according to experts. When he said “Let’s make America great again,” he was clearly reflecting the white Christian’s fears and not the fears of the others. Needless to say, he succeeded in creating a deep rift between himself and non-white Christian Americans – just as much as he became popular among white Christians.

Trump’s victory can now be understood very easily. He promised to give the white Christian that which he felt he had lost. Besides, there is growing fear among the community that Christianity is under attack by the government. As such, Donald Trump, despite his controversies, has been seen as a champion for the rights of the white Christian American family.