Christian Evangelicals Prefer Trump, Although Not Very Enthusiastically

Christian Evangelicals Prefer Trump, Although Not Very Enthusiastically

Christian Evangelicals Prefer Trump, Although Not Very Enthusiastically
Gage Skidmore, is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
White evangelicals feel a Trump presidency is the lesser of two evils.

Once critical of Trump, Evangelical Americans have now turned into one of his strongest pillars of support. Despite the fact that the Republican nominee's life is far away from what Evangelicals would call a good Christian life, they now feel bringing him to power is a better option than seeing Clinton winning.

Christian Evangelicals Prefer Trump, Although Not Very Enthusiastically[/tweetthis]

Although Trump may have had a seemingly “un-Christian” life in the past, Evangelicals feel Clinton will lead America into a “Godless” future. Clinton's open views on abortion rights, gay-rights and feminism have put her in a more unfavorable position with Evangelicals than her Republican opponent.

With both presidential nominees equally unpopular among Americans, it looks like this year’s election has become a decision between who citizens feel represents the lesser of two evils. To put it bluntly, Clinton's supporters are supporting her simply because she is not Trump, while Trump's supporters are supporting him because they do not want to see Clinton in power. The two contestants are very different in their opinions and America is split perfectly between the two. Those who are for modern day issues like gay rights and abortion rights seem to be on Clinton's side, while those who believe in more traditional values and want to limit the rights and benefits given to immigrants are on Trump's side.

Trump's divorces and rather unconventional, vulgar way of campaigning once put him at odds with the Evangelicals. However, the Republican nominee steadily gained their confidence over time so that today, almost 94% of Evangelicals are expected to vote for him. His tough views on abortion rights, same-sex marriages, and importantly, his calls for tough laws on Muslims and immigrants have made him look like better choice that aligns with their values. Evangelicals feel that if Clinton comes to power, there will be an era of godless, immoral times in America. As such, Evangelicals feel the best way out is to help Trump win.

There are many underlying factors pushing white Evangelicals towards Trump. Unanimous in their fear that America's traditional Christian values are under attack by foreign groups, they are highly impressed by Trump's pro-white American patriarchal opinions. According to R. Marie Griffith, director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, white Evangelicals are opposed to all communities such as feminists, Latinos, Black-Americans and minorities like Muslims. As such, to them, Clinton is representative of all these groups, thanks to her liberal views on them.

Despite all odds, it looks like Trump's efforts at winning over the Evangelicals has been quite successful. 

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