Feigned persecution, not actual threat, drives religious voter turnout

Evidence

Conservative evangelicals had learned to trade on a sense of embattlement. When liberals, communists, feminists, or secular humanists seemed to be winning, supporters dug deep into their pockets. With Reagan in the White House, the sense of urgency diminished. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 314 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

By the half-hour mark, Lamb was in full persecution mode. “Let me say this, and this is going to be shocking for some of y’all … You know what’s going to eventually happen in America if Christians don’t vote and we don’t get involved in the process? And the liberal groups see that they can just run roughshod over us? … There’ll come a time when Christian television will be outlawed. There’ll come a time that if a minister stands up and preaches the word of God against sin, it’ll be considered hate crimes. And hate speech. And they will be arrested and thrown in prison just like in countries like Iran!” — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 717 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

This anti-sharia fear is one that is being used to garner fear of Muslims in America. The belief is that Muslims are trying to institute Islamic law in America, which is not the case. Anti-Muslim activists like Gabriel Brigitte from ACT for America promotes the idea that Muslims are trying to Islamicize America through sharia law. Politicians, like the mayor of Irving, have introduced anti-sharia bills to legislator partially for political support from their constituents who fear Muslims in America. — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 519 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
• XREF: connects to: The claim that churches pay for abortions is a knowingly false mobilizing narrative. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 381; Perceived white Christian persecution drives opposition to voter access — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian…, 48; Christian TV hosts invoke Iran-style persecution threats to drive voter turnout. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 717 (+6 more)

Related

• Christian TV hosts invoke Iran-style persecution threats to drive voter turnout. (similarity 0.87)
• Invented persecution narratives, not actual threats, mobilize the religious-nationalist voter base. (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Evangelical fundraising depended on a cultivated sense of persecution #corroborates (0.95) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 314
• Christian TV hosts invoke Iran-style persecution threats to drive voter turnout. #corroborates (0.92) — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 717
• Anti-sharia campaigns exploit fabricated fears to gain political support #exemplifies (0.75) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 519
• Secular political movements can weaponize religious claims they do not believe. #expands (0.72) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 495