The election of Donald Trump shocked the world and continues to shake the American political world. In Stephen Mansfield's Choosing Donald Trump: God, Anger, Hope, and Why Conservative Christians Supported Him, Mansfield considers the question, How did this crass, foul-mouthed businessman and serial adulterer become a hero to the Christian right?
Mansfield is no fan of Trump. He doesn't go full "never-Trumper" but at times he's close. He is certainly not an apologist for Trump's well-known moral failings, crass personality, and habit of name-calling and personal vendettas. What Trump did was take up the mantle of the concerns of conservatives, including the Christian right, after they had suffered through eight years of feeling like their concerns were sidelined and disparaged.
Under Obama, conservatives got gay marriage, men in the girls' restroom, targeting of conservative groups by the IRS, told they "cling to their guns and religion," have their businesses shut down if they won't bake a cake for or photograph a gay wedding. Hilary promised to continue this trend, and called people who oppose her "deplorable." She stated that opponents to abortion should change their religious beliefs. She claims to be a faithful Methodist, but many Christians saw no friend of the faith in her words and actions.
Along comes candidate Trump, who, despite his consistently secular lifestyle, appealed to evangelicals, telling them he will be their voice. Many conservatives and evangelicals saw him as "someone like them--raw, imperfect, but fierce in defense of what they believed." During his campaign and now his presidency he has been consistently pro-choice and pro-Christian, in ways that Clinton never would have been.
Besides this break down, Mansfield also explores Trump's personal faith. Trump's pastor for many years was Norman Vincent Peale, famous for his book The Power of Positive Thinking. His teaching and attitude had a huge impact on Trump. In recent years, Florida pastor Paula White, known as fgva proponent of the prosperity gospel, has been a close religious advisor to Trump. Both of these pastors are Christians and include the core of the gospel in their teaching, but their respective emphases tend to overshadow their gospel teaching and explain why Trump tends not to express his Christian faith in ways that most evangelicals relate to.
In my mind, the explanation for Christians' support of Trump is simple: he was not Hillary. That tells part of the story, but Mansfield fleshes out the story and adds important background to Trump's religious experience and beliefs. As many have said, we did not elect Trump to be our pastor. But conservative Christians in the U.S. did get an ally and defender in the White House, for which I, for one, am grateful.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
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