Anti-abortion absolutism fused with Christian nationalism to anchor GOP loyalty by 2016
Evidence
By the election of 2016, the creation of a new American religion of “life” and its merger with a single political party was plain for all to see. Every presidential candidate for the Republican nomination took a stand against abortion and disagreed only on whether rape, incest, and life-of-the-mother exceptions should be allowed. And every Christian nationalist activist hammered home the message. “There is literally no more important issue than the life of a child prior to its birth,” said Buddy Pilgrim, an activist and businessman who has been closely involved in political campaigns and legislation-focused initiatives. “That is supreme, and we cannot stand before a righteous and holy God and say, ‘I voted for a pro-abortion candidate because I liked their economic policies better.’ ” Christian nationalists and their allies continue to stand behind the most corrupt, divisive, and chaotic president in history because they believe that he can supply, via the courts, the abortion ban that they see as a necessary prelude to making America a righteous nation again. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 290
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to the broader literature on single-issue voting and how religious movements appraise politicians instrumentally rather than morally, like the Somali MP vote-buying dynamics in Africa’s First Democrats. — connects to: Christian nationalism predicts abortion opposition independently of religiosity and partisanship — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 249; Anti-Muslim platform positions helped Trump rise in 2016 Republican primary polls — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 40; “Evangelical” now functions chiefly as a Republican Party identity label — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian…, 280 (+6 more)
- QUESTION: What evidence supports the claim that pro-life voters tolerate corruption because of the courts mechanism specifically, rather than other compensating goods?
Broader Connections
- Christian nationalism predicts abortion opposition independently of religiosity and partisanship
#corroborates(0.85) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 249 - Christian nationalism preconditioned voters to accept authoritarian rule before Trump.
#expands(0.80) — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 41 - Christian nationalism robustly predicts authoritarian political attitudes
#expands(0.78) — Ruiqian Li and Paul Froese, The Duality of American Christian…, 45 - Anti-Muslim platform positions helped Trump rise in 2016 Republican primary polls
#complicates(0.75) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 40 - Christian nationalism fuses ethnic, racial, and political hierarchy with religious identity
#expands(0.75) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 66 - “Evangelical” now functions chiefly as a Republican Party identity label
#expands(0.72) — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross, 280 - Anti-Muslim racism intensified and became a deliberate GOP electoral strategy.
#complicates(0.72) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 853