After Trump’s election, lots of people started to claim that 81% of white Evangelicals voted for him. As someone who is an Evangelical and was a voter during the 2016 election, let me explain what happened.
So, how do Evangelicals vote? Most of the time, Evangelicals support Republicans as they are conservative. However, in the recent election, the numbers have completely changed. Only ~60% of all Evangelicals voted; therefore, 81% out of this 60% decided to give their vote for Trump (which is less than 50% of the population of Evangelicals).
What are the reasons behind Evangelicals’ support for Republicans? If this is something you’re wondering about, then keep reading, and hopefully, you’ll understand our point of view.
Why Do Evangelicals Still Vote For Republicans?
- Evangelicals And Republicans Have The Same View On Abortion
Lots of people believe it is a woman’s right to decide whether or not the conceived baby should keep growing inside of her. And I completely understand this point of view (as there are different situations in life), but this is not something I personally agree with.
If you have sex with somebody, it is completely your responsibility to do everything it takes in order to avoid pregnancy. If you’re careless, then you should take the responsibility for your actions.
People still don’t know when precisely life starts. Is it at the moment a baby was conceived? Or it happens when the baby is something more than just two or three cells? Or when the heart forms inside of the baby’s body? There’s no scientific answer for that, so no one can claim abortions are safe as you might be killing a new life.
What’s more, this little bundle of life already has a soul. I can’t imagine how some people just don’t care about that at all and go for the abortion anyway. How many souls have we lost because of that?
Jeremiah 1:5 – Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
This verse implies that the conceived baby is already a baby as God already knows it. Therefore, abortion becomes equal to murder.
This is a big topic on which both Evangelicals and Republicans agree and the very first reason why Evangelicals mostly vote for them. Psalm 127:3-5 – Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. {3} Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. {4} Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court. {5}
- Gender Identity Is Not Normal
Deuteronomy 22:5 KJV – A woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
This verse says right away, there should be a contrast between a man and a woman. However, in modern society, it is very hard sometimes to distinguish one sex from another, and there are several reasons behind it.
First of all, the clothes which people are wearing erase the boundaries between men and women. As the majority of women started to wear pants and some men wear skirts or dresses, it feels like we live on the other side of the looking glass.
Secondly, some people don’t identify themselves as the sex they belong to, which creates even more confusion. God created you the way you are not by mistake, but because it was his plan. Person’s identity should match their sex. But again, for everyone its own, but I don’t want my kids to be affected by something like this.
Genesis 1:27 – So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
That’s why even though there are more than dozens of genders, only two are real. In my opinion, people who can’t identify with the sex they were born with should consult their doctors to make sure their mental health is stable.
Still, I’m not trying to say all of them are mentally ill, but there could be some sort of anomaly inside of their brains.
- The Supreme Court Judges Are Mostly Republicans
During Trump’s presidency, a lot of Republican Judges were appointed. It helped to overrule the abortion law in some states, and hopefully it’s just the beginning.
I think it is way too harsh (for example, I personally believe abortion should be allowed when a woman is raped or has health issues that prevent her from giving birth and staying alive after the baby is born), but overall, it is a small step towards a big victory.
There’s a high chance that during Kavanaugh’s term a lot of things are going to change.
Firstly, there’s a possibility Roe v. Wade will be overturned in ALL states, which means abortion will be banned everywhere.
Lastly, the court will rule in favor of religious groups rather than anti-discrimination laws, which could possible change gay marriage laws.
- Christians In The U.S. Are Under The Siege
Nowadays, there is a lot of people advocating against religions, especially Christianity. These so-called secularists are challenging the great tradition of religious freedom.
Fortunately for Evangelicals and Christians in general, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a task force devoted to defending religious liberty.
It is finally allowed for Christians and people who belong to other religious groups to refuse to provide customer service if it goes against their views.
For example, after a Christian baker refused to make a cake for a gay couple’s wedding, religious organizations were called hate groups for obeying traditional views. The baker decided to go to the Supreme Court but actually won the case before he got there!
Why Evangelicals Voted For Trump In 2016?
No one expected Trump to be a nominee for the 2016 election. He doesn’t have any personal character, was twice divorced, and almost every sentence he said in public was on the edge between being proper and inappropriate.
However, he promised to expand religious liberty and nominate conservative, pro-life judges who could overturn Roe v. Wade. Moreover, he fought in the culture war against anti-religious fanatics and secularists.
On the other hand, Clinton was a less flawed candidate. Still, her thirst for power was too self-interested, but overall, her character wasn’t as bad as Trump’s. However, it was in her plans to limit religious liberty because she believed religions have a certain way to discriminate others and was going to vote for partial-birth abortions.
So, if you were an Evangelical who was about to vote, who would you choose: an awful candidate whose policies correlate with your views, or a less-flawed candidate whose views are a complete opposite of yours? As for me, the choice is quite obvious.
Even so, surprisingly, many Evangelicals refused to vote at all because there were no candidates who would have a great character and similar political views.
Will Evangelicals Remain Loyal?
It is quite obvious Democrats are not going to change their political views. Therefore, chances of Evangelicals starting to vote for democrats are not very high as well. However, if Republicans will remain silent on such things as lust, cheating, and other sins that happen inside of their party, Evangelicals might just turn on them at any time.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Evangelicals choose Republicans not because they adore this party but rather because their views are somewhat similar. If Democrats, for example, were pro-life, there would be a higher chance that more Evangelicals would vote for them.
Learn More
If you are interested in learning about other Religions in the world, then check out this book on World’s Religions on Amazon.