White evangelical support for Trump rose between 2016 and 2020
Evidence
Second, white Christian nationalism is not synonymous with white evangelicalism per se, even if there is considerable overlap. Though we may not be able to say that for much longer, as white evangelicalism becomes more and more synonymous with Republican voting and reactionary politics. To be sure, some evangelical leaders publicly distanced themselves from Trump in 2016. Others did so later. But many others not only supported Trump that year; they doubled down on Trump in 2020, arguing that he’d kept his promises to defend religious liberty and appoint conservative justices. Still others, such as Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler, had a born-again experience in the interim. In 2016, Mohler had promised that he would “Never. Ever. Period.” vote for Trump. By 2020, he’d seen the light on his road to Damascus. So did the people in the pews: white evangelical support for Trump actually increased between 2016 and 2020. — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross, 53
Categorization
- CANDY: The detail that Southern Baptist president Al Mohler ‘saw the light on his road to Damascus’ after promising ‘Never. Ever. Period.’ to vote for Trump is a crisp, telling anecdote.
- XREF: connects to: Evangelical support rose as Trump grew more offensive and bombastic. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 593
Broader Connections
- Evangelical support rose as Trump grew more offensive and bombastic.
#corroborates(0.80) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 593