Unchristian Donald Trump cuts deal for power with evangelicals – Henry McLeish

Despite the separation of church and state in the US Constitution, Donald Trump – wanted as president by God, according to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders – is making religion ever more important in American politics, writes Henry McLeish.

Donald and Melania Trump attend Christmas Eve services at the US National Cathedral (Picture: Olivier Douliery - Pool/Getty Images)

The role of religion in American politics ­continues to belie the ­ideal of the separation of church and state ­contained in the First Amendment of the US Constitution: ­“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of ­religion or prohibiting the free ­exercise thereof.”

Adopted in December 1791, as one of the signature themes of the founding fathers and the result of mass immigration, including the influx of both Puritans and ­Presbyterians from Britain, the United States today boasts a population where a remarkable 65 per cent say religion plays an important part of their daily lives.

The figures range from more than 80 per cent in the southern states to a still very high percentage of nearly 50 per cent in the more prosperous parts of the country. These figures compare with under 20 per cent in Sweden and Denmark and 24 per cent in Japan. In 2016, 90 per cent of Americans believed in God, but only 28 per cent of people in Britain believed in God or a higher power.

For a developed country, the US is extraordinarily high on religion.There are nearly 70 references to God in US codes, covering currency, courts and ceremonies, including the Pledge of Allegiance. The US Constitution, however, does not mention the words Christian or God. So why do Christianity and God exercise so much influence on politics and government policy?

Viewed from the UK, there are few outward signs of profound US ­religiosity, but In God We Trust is on every dollar bill after it was first added to coins during the Civil War. And we have all heard God Bless America, written by Irving Berlin in 1918 while serving in the Army.

So does God have a special ­relationship with the US? Americans seem to think so. A poll in 2015 found that 53 per cent of Americans thought God does indeed have a special relationship with the USA.

The Republicans are sometimes said to be ‘God’s party’ and, despite the constitutional barrier between church and state, religion is often invoked in national politics.

The religious right, and in ­particular white evangelicals – the ­largest Christian group, of whom 81 per cent voted for Donald Trump in 2016 – are a powerful force and represent a significant theocratic dimension to American politics.

Religion is embedded in American political life and this magnifies the significance of it in peoples everyday lives. One ­cynical ­commentator suggested that US conservatives went to war in Afghanistan to separate religion from politics abroad while ­striving to unite religion and politics at home.

Many Americans don’t vote in their own economic interests but instead vote for Republicans who sell religion, culture, value ­politics and identity. It is cynical but ­effective and in many respects explains why so-called “values ­voting” plays an increasing role in British politics: Brexit was rooted in values, feelings, emotions and ­delusion, not economic interest.

The cultural agenda of the ­religious right and evangelicals is narrow, divisive and extraordinarily partisan, and preoccupied with abortion, family values, lesbian and gay rights. Their intense dislike of Islam and their intolerance towards religious difference threatens one of America’s most cherished ideals, religious freedom.

In America, the politics of ­religion are ugly and very ‘unchristian’. It’s a narrative about the religious right exploiting a weak president at a time when the country is becoming less white and more culturally diverse. Moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem served no sensible foreign policy ­objective, but it did help Trump keep faith with his evangelical base.

Abortion is the number one ­priority. Appointing conservative judges to the Supreme Court is designed to eventually overturn its 1973 ­ruling in Roe vs Wade, which gave all women the right to have an ­abortion. This is the supreme goal of the religious right and is shared by their recently converted cheerleader in the White House.

Trump and his new friends seem an unlikely partnership. But for the president this is a transactional arrangement made in heaven. He delivers conservative judges to the Supreme Court – and he may have already created a conservative majority – and promotes anti-abortion rhetoric on every ­platform when speaking to his base. The white evangelicals delivered millions of votes in 2016 and remain vital to his 2020 election strategy.

This is the same Trump who was “very pro-choice” in the 1990s, who has not been noted for his ­ethical, biblical or religious fervour in recent years, and who remained silent as Mexican children, because of his policies, were dragged from their mothers in horrific scenes at border crossings. This is a marriage of convenience which says a great deal about the state of God’s ­relationship with America.

Trump is flawed and has to be the absolute contradiction of the ­Christian message and ­everything sincere people of all religions believe in. The president is now owned by the evangelicals and they are in a strong position to corrupt social and family policy in the US and turn the clock back to a less ­progressive period when ­women had few rights. The real estate tycoon is masquerading as a man of God, but his personal life and lack of moral compass are of no ­interest to the white militant Christian right.

This was on display last week when he attended a uniquely American event, the national prayer meeting in Washington, which was initially known as the Presidential Prayer Breakfast in 1953 when President Dwight Eisenhower attended. Since then, it has provided a forum for a discussion on the role of faith in politics. Courting evangelicals and religious conservatives, Trump said: “I will never let you down.”

This came hard on the heels of his State of the Union speech when he attacked abortion and accused lawmakers in New York of passing legislation to “allow a baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments before birth”. Of course, this speech was billed as an attempt to unify the country and promote ‘greatness’! Trump is a dealmaker and ­everything is about 2020.

Just to illustrate the complexity and spectacularly delusional nature of America’s relationship with God, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during an interview with Christian Broadcast Network News that “God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times and I think that he wanted Donald Trump to become ­President”. With such an endorsement, it is hard to see how he could lose. Compare that with Alistair Campbell’s intervention – “We don’t do God” – when Tony Blair was being asked to talk about his faith.

Religion in America is divisive because it is often seen as white, conservative, Republican, evangelical, intolerant and aggressive.

Trump seems destined to make it more divisive – ­government by divine guidance is ­dangerous and he seems particularly ill-equipped to interpret the will of God to shape public policy. Although, as allegations of ­corruption and collusion with ­Russia engulf the White House and the president, divine intervention may ultimately turn out to be his only salvation.