Despite his lewd Access Hollywood tape, eighteen sexual assault allegations, and infidelity, former president Donald Trump enjoys the unwavering support of American Christians. In the 2020 presidential election, Trump secured votes from 81% of White Evangelicals, the largest denomination of Christianity, an even higher percentage than Evangelical president George Bush received (78% in 2004). The reason lies in a decades-long and crescent collaboration between Christians and the Republican Party—from the Cold War administration (the 1960s) to Ronald Reagan’s (the 1980s) to Donald Trump’s (the 2010s)—to achieve political power. Today, scholars are stressing the deleterious repercussions of this alliance: the conformity of Christians to Republicanism and Democrats to Atheism divides Americans along political and religious lines, decreasing national unity and progress. The intentional strategy of some Republicans and Christians to link their ideologies exacerbates American political polarization, which can and must be rectified.

The ties that exist between the Republican Party and Christianity are a result of deliberate tactics by red politicians to wean religious voters away from the Democratic Party, and those by Christian groups to enshrine Christianity in American politics. The Cold War, a period of geopolitical rivalry between the United States and the communist Soviet Union, birthed the Christian-Republican coalition in America; Evangelical Christians finally found a political party that championed their anti-communism stance. However, the alliance was truly established in 1984, as a result of Reagan’s “Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast” speech which blurred the boundary between church and state. Reagan declared, “as morality’s foundation is religion, religion and politics are necessarily related…If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” As such, Reagan’s Republican platform reflected the agenda of Christians (especially that of White Evangelicals), calling for a constitutional ban on abortion, appointing anti-abortion federal judges, and proposing voluntary prayer in public schools.³ Donald Trump’s presidency had an even larger unifying effect. The 2020 Republican National Convention saw Sister Dierde Byrns espouse a vote for Trump as a vote against abortion and for “eternal life,” and welcomed pastors and nuns in attempts to consolidate the Christian vote. Following his victory, the Trump administration fulfilled the wishes of its Christian constituents by overturning Roe v. Wade, defunding Planned Parenthood, and authorizing anti-LGBTQ employment discrimination. As cross-party antipathy rises, mere activism by the left augments the coalition; Christians find their biblical support for the traditional nuclear family challenged by Democrats’ calls for women and LGBTQ rights, and their understanding of creation threatened by public school evolutionary biology teachings, finding solace in Republican ideology instead. The wall erected by our Founding Fathers between church and state has eroded; Republicanism and Christianity are indubitably tied. 

This link is pushing Christians to conform to Republicanism and Democrats to Atheism. As of 2021, being Christian significantly diminishes the likelihood that Americans (specifically Whites, Blacks, Latinos, women, and the poor) will vote for Democratic politicians and policies, which explains why 28% more Evangelical Protestants and 4% more Mainline Protestants are Republicans than Democrats.^, This tendency is especially true for attitudes towards abortion. On average, women support abortion rights only 5% more than men; the percentage is significantly decreased by the facts that women are ~15% more likely to be Christian, pray daily, and attend religious services and Christianity is pro-life.^, Strikingly, one’s political attitude also shapes their religious ideologies. Professor of Political Science David Campbell confirms that individuals, especially young adults, now choose their religious or secular affiliations, communities, and beliefs on the basis of their partisanship, and, in particular, aversion to the religious right is making Democrats adopt secular identities and principles. Campbell’s findings elucidate why 82% of Republicans are Christians, compared to 65% of Independents and 63% of Democrats. Regrettably, this increasing alignment of secular and Democratic identities and Christian and Republican ones will only exacerbate our nation’s social divisions. 

By eliminating cross-cutting identities, religious-political sorting is polarizing Americans and deteriorating our nation’s democracy. The Pew Research Center proves this reality through national polls: in 2016, 47% of Republicans and 35% of Democrats said their opponents were immoral; this percentage grew to 72% and 63% respectively, and is projected to rise. The link between Republican and Christian ideologies also harms democracy by instigating religious abandonment. Until the early 1990s, only 5-7% of Americans were nonreligious, which increased to 14% in 2000, 18% by 2010, 23% by 2018, and is expected to exceed a quarter of the American population by 2050. Professor David Campbell identified the cause: Americans—especially young people—are abandoning Christianity because they view it as an extension of conservative politics, with which they disagree.¹⁴ In fact, exposure to a Republican candidate who employs “God talk” directly correlates with Atheism among Democrats. As the Christian population in America shrinks, so too will the Republican voting bloc. Meaning, one of our political system’s two most powerful parties may be unseated by the very thing that brought it into power—Christian Republicanism. Lastly, by ending the prophetic speech, the Christian-Republican association decreases America’s chances of national unification. Historically apolitical, religious leaders (such as Martin Luther King Jr.) were once viewed as a nation’s moral compass. However, the more religion intertwines with partisan politics, the more it loses its prophetic potential, and thus the ability to mobilize Americans. With economic inequality, racial prejudice, and refugee crises rampant in America, prophetic voices are needed now more than ever.^,

However, hope exists for American politics. Over 54% of Americans do not see ties between Christianity and the Republican Party, suggesting that American politics is not locked into an intractable division. Additionally, there are numerous exceptions to this association, most notably among racial minorities. The average Black American is highly religious and strongly Democratic. The same is true, though to a lesser extent, for Latino Americans. Furthermore, religious tolerance in the United States is relatively high (ratings of religious groups have increased by ~8% since 2014), despite high levels of both religious diversity and devotion. American constituents and politicians have the power to effectively address religious-political sorting. The solution is not for Christians to refrain from politics altogether. This would be impossible to achieve; Christian interviewee Lisa Barnett corroborates, “[Christians] have to be politically active because Jesus was political.” Instead, the solution is in social bridging. We must create new, and maintain our, interfaith neighborhoods, friendships, marriages, and extended families to encourage tolerance towards divergent religious and political worldviews. Another remedy lies in the power of religious leaders: religious leaders must refuse to be co-opted by politicians, meaning no clergy appearances at campaign events, no invitations for politicians to speak in their houses of worship, and no supportive speeches, articles, posts, or tweets. Historian Bruce Schulman asserts that achieving this is impossible, citing that 53% of Americans are less likely to support a presidential candidate who does not believe in God. The same logic, that politicians will follow their constituents, proves this solution effective; when Christian leaders and followers advocate for secularization, politicians will comply. Similarly, when voters refuse to vote for, contribute money to, or campaign on behalf of politicians who exploit religious faith, politicians will secularize. Such a backlash from voters would be the most powerful incentive of all to restore the separation of church and state.

Bibliography

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Butters, Julie. “Why America Can’t Separate Religion and Politics | the Brink.” Boston University, December 2, 2015. https://www.bu.edu/articles/2015/american-cant-separate-religion-politics/.

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Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project. “Public Opinion on Abortion,” 2022. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/#h-views-on-abortion-by-gender-2022.

Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project. “Religious Landscape Study.” Accessed December 16, 2022. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/compare/christians/by/party-affiliation/.

Rettig, Jessica. “The Religious Ties of the Republican Party.” US News, October 2, 2010. https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2010/12/02/the-religious-ties-of-the-republican-party.