The Evangelical Christian Churches in the U.S. are a very important feature of American life and have a great influence on the world evangelical community, the Christian Today website reports today (April 30, 2024).
They make up a large part of rthe Christian population of the U.S. as well as the overall population.
The impact on culture, communities, and individual lives is difficult to exaggerate. However, it is their involvement with politics which has increasingly gained attention. Their close association with the Republican Party is wqell known , but their support for Donald Trump has become a defining feature since 2016.
In 2016, it generally is accepted that about 81% of White U.S. evangelists voted for Donald Trump. Some analysis of the data argues for it being 79%, but figures are comparable . The proportion voting for Trump in 2020 was similarto the higher figure. This support of white evangelicals (and it is necessary to add that racial clarifier) for the Republican Party in its current Trump--MAGA -- form, has become one of the norms of modern U.S. politics. There is every sign that 20 24 will be comparable with previous patterns of voting.
The ideological voting pattern, so clear in 2016 and 2020, looks set to continue.
It is a political and cultural phenomenon of great importnce. But what is its history? How has the U.S. "evangelical right" emerged as such a political force? And why is it so important of Donald Trump and MAGA?
Right--leaning evangelical Protestants have been involved in politics for much of the twentieth century and the activities are not simply a modern phenomenon , although during the past 35 years they have come to increasing prominence. As far back as 1940s, 50s and 60s,anxieties about the perceived threat of communism and changing patterns of social behavior caused many with this outlook to gravitate towards the Republican Party as a way of defending what would have been described as the Protestant--based moral order.
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