Church attendance did not predict resistance to Trump among Republicans

Evidence

Evangelical elites again raised the specter of “fake evangelicals”—of “culture Christians” masquerading as real evangelicals. No true, Bible-believing, family-values evangelical could vote for a man like Trump, they insisted. The pollsters were using flawed categories. People who knew nothing of the finer points of doctrine were being thrown in with real evangelicals, muddying the category. Early in the primary season, #NeverTrump evangelicals had taken comfort in polls suggesting that those who attended religious services more frequently were less likely to support Trump, but this comfort proved ephemeral. A survey conducted in June 2016 revealed that churchgoing Republican voters were as likely to support Trump as those who attended less frequently; in fact, “nearly nine-in-ten GOP registered voters who attended religious services weekly” were backing Trump at that point. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 602

Categorization

• XREF: Directly counters the establishment-elite narrative of ‘fake evangelicals’ — this is the key falsifying datum for the ‘true evangelical’ defense Du Mez dismantles throughout. — connects to: Evangelical church attendance does not translate into broader community involvement — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 251