Why do Evangelical Christians support Trump?

One of the most puzzling features of the Trump era in the U.S. is the unflinching support he continues to get from the evangelical Christian community in that country.

It is puzzling because this is a man who has never professed to believe in the basic tenets of the Christian faith, and has never pretended to conduct his affairs with the kind of honesty, sincerity, and humility that Christians have traditionally claimed are the attitudes that adherents should display.

Giving them what they want

Is it, as many have suggested, that Trump has provided valuable support (and policy initiatives) for causes dear to the hearts of these people? From a policy perspective he has certainly done that. The two big ones are 1) packing the Supreme Court with conservative judges, and 2) persistent opposition to what we might call “sex and body issues” – gay and transgender issues on the one hand, and unchallenged abortion on the other?

And so, it is suggested, evangelical Christians are prepared to overlook Trump’s gross behaviour and flawed character because they think he is giving them what they want. After all, God works in mysterious ways and all that…

Preserving a tradition “Christian” way of life

Or there is the more cynical claim that Trump is the last best hope of the segment of American society that wants to save the white privileged way of life. In effect traditionally privileged white Christians see Trump and his band of old Republican white men as a bulwark against what seems to be an inevitable shift away from a world in which they have been able to keep blacks and other non-white people relatively subservient to their traditional white masters? You know…immigration, border wall, moslem ban, shithole countries, mexican rapists, and so on.

No doubt both of these things are important to many Americans who call themselves evangelical Christians. But I think there is something deeper going on.

Anti-Intellectualism
In short, Trump’s most important feature is his anti-intellectualism. Some might call it “anti-elitism”, but that is misleading. Without a doubt there is an overwhelming feeling among many people in the U.S. that greater “intellectualism” (education) results in disproportionate ecomomic opportunity. That it’s not so much that these people know more stuff, or have a better grasp of the complexities of the world, but that simply going through the process of learning more seemingly sophisticated stuff results in advantages, opportunities and privileges that are not warranted.

This is presumably because the people who value this more sophisticated stuff control the handing out of higher paying jobs and positions of control in American society. And of course, the economic and societal advantages that go along with those jobs.

I think there is actually a fair bit of truth to this. Dog-eat-dog American individualism has a way of perpetuating the “I have earned my position of power and control” attitude. Of course the irony is that Trump is part of the elite and has no problem looking down on those around him. More than most elitist snobs.

And to a great extent Trump makes no secret of his arrogance, love of power, and elitism. It’s just that he wraps it up in tendencies admired by his supporters. And he mocks the same elitists disliked by his supporters.

Poor Reflection on Evangelicals

Evangelical Christianity has a strong streak of anti-intellectualism – for the sake of its own self-preservation. Why? Because so many of its basic beliefs do not make sense on close examination. Refusing to actually examine those beliefs is a perfect way to avoid self-doubt. Insisting on “faith” is the perfect way to talk yourself out of actually searching for the truth.

To the rest of us who despise Trump’s arrogance, boorishness, selfishness, etc. the way evangelical Christians are attracted to him reflects poorly on them in just about every way. But given their aversion to thinking clearly about things that question their “faith”, it is not at all surprising why they find his close-minded pig-headedness attractive.