“Evangelical” now functions chiefly as a Republican Party identity label
Evidence
If self-identified evangelicals respond to Trump’s semi-secularized version of white Christian nationalism, then this is in part because the evangelical label itself has become semi-secularized as well. Political scientist Ryan Burge has shown that an increasing number of Americans outside of evangelical Protestant traditions (such as Catholics, Mormons, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Jews, and even Muslims and Hindus) are now identifying as “evangelical or born-again Christians.” He shows that this is largely driven by the merging of Republican and evangelical identities, so that when Americans are asked whether they’re “evangelical,” they increasingly read this not as a question about their theological beliefs, but whether they identify with the Republican Party. — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross, 280
Categorization
- QUESTION: How recent is the Republican-evangelical identity merge, and does Burge date its acceleration to a specific election cycle?
- XREF: connects to: Political coalitions replaced shared theology in defining conservative evangelical identity — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 121; The Christian Right’s lasting achievement was locking evangelicals to the GOP — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 244; Self-identified evangelicals are defined more by culture and politics than by theology — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 14 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Political coalitions replaced shared theology in defining conservative evangelical identity
#corroborates(0.92) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 121 - The Christian Right’s lasting achievement was locking evangelicals to the GOP
#corroborates(0.90) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 244 - Self-identified evangelicals are defined more by culture and politics than by theology
#corroborates(0.88) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 14