Quote:
Originally Posted by Original Position
I agree that white evangelical Christians are increasingly likely to identify as conservative and be part of the largely white GOP "conservative" political coalition (in 2007 50% identified as conservative, in 2014 56% did so). I disagree that their positions have diffused into a broader cultural conservatism within the GOP coalition. My sense is that Trump and his faction of trolls aren't personally very exercised by the standard concerns of evangelicals like stopping abortion or promoting traditional family values, but rather they are interested in promoting American nationalism. The evangelicals I know are quite aware that Trump is not one of them, even if they are mostly happy with his leadership of their party.
My point is not that the White Evangelicals are in a coalition with the GOP trolls, it is that they
are the GOP trolls. They constitute a very significant part of the electorate and they are now voting almost exclusively R.
Also, the data you provide appears to be not for white evangelicals, but
all evangelicals, which includes the predominantly liberal black evangelicals. I am also pretty sure that if the % is changed to include the 'lean' R's, the number skyrockets. At any rate, at the end of the day, I don't think it really matters what they self-identify as, as much as it matters who they are actually voting for. Do you agree?
Some Numbers
• White Evangelicals voted Trump 80-16 in 2016.
Source
• June of this year: 82% of White Evangelicals still voting for Trump
Source
• White Evangelicals less likely to report income >$150k [note: I believe the vast majority have a total household income < $100k] or possess a Bachelors or higher, while they are more likely to be older (which is the core Trump demographic).
Source
No Distinct Political Positions
• White Evangelicals R's have no disparate political positions as a group with which we can make any meaningful distinctions between them and the non-evangelical R's.
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For example, overall and not specific to issues, 83% of non-evangelical Republicans are predicted to prefer the Republican Party compared to 85% for evangelical Republicans. Differences were statistically insignificant for healthcare, the economy, immigration and gun control.
Ibid
• Case in point: despite the bible teaching us to be kind and welcoming to immigrants, White Evangelicals choose to conveniently ignore that teaching and subscribe to the overall GOP anti-immigration hysteria.
Source
Thus,
I am forced to conclude that the White Evangelicals and the Trumpers are one and the same. Trump won by making a naked appeal to traditional White cultural values and nostalgia, and there is no mistaking that this nation was founded in Christian values and White hegemony. The message has clearly resonated with White Evangelicals.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Original Position
However, the big mistake to avoid here imo is to think that evangelicalism is mostly about the political positions associated with conservatives. For most evangelicals, especially those in whom it has its biggest impact, the most important impact on their lives are things like: going to church every week, praying and meditating on spiritual topics, reading the Bible and devotional material, living according to Christian morality and ways of life, believing Christian theology about God, the world, and other people, associating with other Christians, talking with God, and so on. Relatively speaking, the impact of being a political conservative on a person's life is small.
The impact may be small on a personal level, and I think I agree there, however they are in perfect alignment with the current iteration of the GOP, so again I don't think any meaningful distinctions can be made in the aggregate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Original Position
You're wrong to claim that Catholics do not think their religious liberties in the US are being threatened. For instance, Catholic hospitals and aid organizations have been in litigation for years over whether they are required to abide by the contraceptive mandate in the ACA. I'm not sure about black evangelicals, but I wouldn't assume they don't from them supporting Democratic politicians.
You make a good counter-point with the Catholics. My overall point is that the GOP/White Evangelical alliance is more about a white cultural identity struggle, rather than a fight for religious liberties. This is just my opinion, and I very well may be completely wrong.
You also may very well be correct on your original point that this is just an overall Christian response to the same-sex marriage loss. However, there is still a difference between White Evangelicals and other Christians on these (ostensibly) religious issues and I think it can still be shown that one the whole these issues seem to concern White Evangelicals more than other Christian groups.
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Asked about significant restrictions on abortion — making it illegal except in cases of rape, incest or to threats to a mother’s life — 37 percent of all Americans responded in support, according to the poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Those abortion limits drew 39 percent support from white mainline Protestants, 33 percent support from nonwhite Protestants and 45 percent support from Catholics, but 67 percent support from white evangelical Protestants.
A similar divide emerged over whether the government should bar discrimination against people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender in workplaces, housing or schools. About 6 in 10 Catholics, white mainline Protestants and nonwhite Protestants supported those protections, compared with about a third of white evangelical Protestants.
The differences between white evangelicals and other religious Americans, as well as the non-religious, were less stark on other policy issues examined in the poll. But its findings nonetheless point to an evangelical Protestant constituency that’s more firmly aligned with President Donald Trump’s agenda than other Americans of faith.
Source
Sorry for the protracted political derail, I guess I'm just a politard at heart. Feel free to delete if you feel my posts are inappropriate for this forum.