An Evangelical Election

81% of white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump in 2016. Will that be the case this November?

In the second of our two episodes on the upcoming US election, we explore the statistic that 81% of white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election. According to a Pew Research report released in July, as many as 80% of white evangelicals indicated that they would still vote for him in 2020.

We ask what ‘evangelical’ even means, and consider the possibility that Donald Trump acts as a kind of representative - even a strongman - for evangelicals who feel increasingly out of step with the secular mainstream.

We explore how race factors into the mix as well, and questions of power and influence.

Again, we’re joined by experts from the US to weigh in on the discussion: Amy Black, Professor of Political Science at Wheaton College in Illinois; Lisa Sharon Harper, author, activist, and the founder and president of Freedom Road; Andy Crouch, author, speaker, and the former editor of Christianity Today, America’s flagship evangelical magazine. 

In this episode, we also hear from Kristin Kobes du Mez, Professor of History at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the author of Jesus and John Wayne: How white evangelicals corrupted a faith and fractured a nation.

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Explore

Kristin Kobes du Mez’s book Jesus and John Wayne: How white evangelicals corrupted a faith and fractured a nation

Lisa Sharon Harper’s book The Very Good Gospel: How everything wrong can be made right 

Amy Black’s book Honoring God in Red or Blue: Approaching politics with humility, grace, and reason

Andy Crouch’s book Playing God: Redeeming the gift of power

Elisabeth Dias’ New York Times article ‘Christianity will have power’ 

Pew Research’s report indicating as many as 80% of white evangelicals would still vote for Donald Trump