Trump Supported by Evangelical Christians: The Most Pro-Religion President in American History

The Evangelical Conservative Christians who helped send Donald Trump to the White House four years ago remain with Trump to this day. Although Trump doesn't get a second term, some conservative Christians see reason to celebrate this year's election results.

Religious leaders pray with President Donald Trump during a rally for evangelical supporters at the King Jesus International Ministry church in Miami / Net

White evangelical voters made up 23 percent of the vote nationwide and liked to vote for Trump this fall, with about 8 in 10 supporting him, according to AP VoteCast.

Their backing may not be enough to re-elect the president - with Democrat Joe Biden running out of votes as the state continues to count votes on Friday. However, evangelicals are still excited about their strong presence in the voting and the success of the Grand Old Party (GOP) - as the Republican Party of the United States is called - in the electoral arena.

"There is no doubt that we are doing our job," said Ralph Reed, a veteran GOP activist who founded the non-profit organization Faith and Freedom Coalition, of his conservative Christian colleagues.

Like most of his fellow evangelicals, Reed went up to cast his vote and wished the incumbent victory. However, he advised religious conservatives to see opportunities to work with the Biden government in the future.

"If President Trump fails, if that's what ends up happening, it's a very impressive cycle for religious voters and for social conservatives in the Republican Party," Reed said, as quoted by AP, Saturday (7/11).

While many of Trump's evangelical allies are white, the presidential campaign has also succeeded in attracting Latin voters. The GOP is seeing signs of increasing with that demographic in several states.

Samuel Rodriguez, a Latin evangelical pastor who has provided Trump with input, said there was progress with the emergence of a large number of Latin voters. That is one reason why evangelicals should view the election as a 'victory'.

“I would argue, with great respect to our president, that if we fail (to help raise Trump's voice), it will not be because of the agenda of evangelical life, religious freedom and biblical justice. It's more of a rejection of personality, "said Rodriguez.

Going forward, Rodriguez said, "if we can reconcile the message and the messenger, I think the future looks really amazing."

Among Latins, 61 percent of evangelicals support Trump, according to AP VoteCast, much higher than the 35 percent he receives from Latinos as a whole.

"They really support their man (Trump)," said Jones, who frequently oversees surveys of religious Americans as CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, a Washington-based independent non-profit organization.

Jones said white evangelicals, with high participation rates, had a profound influence on election results, both nationally and in certain states.

"Without their political involvement, the Democrats will be making bigger inroads this year in states like Texas and North Carolina," he said.

Of course, some of the president's closest evangelical allies are not ready to acknowledge the prospect of Biden's victory.

Trump vowed to continue to challenge the outcome, promoting baseless allegations of voter fraud in a bid to undermine public confidence in the process.

Texas-based pastor of a major church, Jack Graham, a longtime Trump supporter, tweeted late Thursday that he was "praying that the lies and fraud will be exposed and (Trump) will be fairly re-elected."

Meanwhile Paula White-Cain, who serves as Trump's personal pastor and White House faith adviser, led this week's prayer for the election and described hearing a "victory vote".

Another top evangelical Trump supporter, the pastor of the massive Dallas church Robert Jeffress, said it was too early to talk about the Biden presidency. He noted that Al Gore and George W. Bush spent weeks contesting the 2000 election results before the Supreme Court ruled in Bush's favor.

If Biden did become president, Jeffress said by email, "Christians will have the same responsibility to him as they have to President Trump: They should praise his good policies, condemn the bad, and pray for his success."

"Even if defeated, Trump will remain a hero to evangelicals," said Jeffress, who called him "the most pro-religion president in American history."

Meanwhile, other evangelical leaders who support Trump expressed concern about the president's repeated deception of voters.

Reverend Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, said in his daily commentary Thursday that although fraud had occurred in the previous election, "making general allegations of voter fraud without investigative specifics, is quite dangerous to America as a nation."

He expressed hope that the sharing of power between the Senate and the White House could derail the possibility of Biden's policies that would worry evangelicals.

In a telephone interview Friday, Mohler said pro-Trump evangelicals have different motives for supporting a president who has strayed from his office traditions so often.

"There are people who see it as an answer to their prayers, and there are those who see it as necessary in this political emergency," Mohler said. The idea of a Biden-Harris government did not occur to many evangelicals

Source: https://dunia.rmol.id/read/2020/11/07/460036/trump-didukung-umat-kristen-evangelis-presiden-paling-pro-agama-dalam-sejarah-amerika