A Rare Exchange About Religion
WASHINGTON In an exclusive interview with Religion News Service, President Trump said in a written statement that he no longer identifies as a Presbyterian and now sees himself as a non-denominational Christian.
Though I was confirmed at a Presbyterian church as a child, I now consider myself to be a non-denominational Christian, Trump, who has repeatedly identified as a Presbyterian in the past, said in a written response to RNS.
Saying that his parents taught me the importance of faith and prayer from a young age, Trump went on to say that Melania and I have gotten to visit some amazing churches and meet with great faith leaders from around the world. During the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak, I tuned into several virtual church services and know that millions of Americans did the same.
The revelation about Trumps religious identity appeared in an interview that was conducted in writing and covered a variety of faith topics, ranging from the presidents own spiritual life to his plans for the White House office tasked with engaging faith groups.
In this Sept. 1, 2017 file photo, religious leaders pray with President Donald Trump after he signed a proclamation for a national day of prayer to occur on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.
White House staffers said that the answers are attributable to the president.
Trump Himself Is A Presbyterian
Donald Trump at the Coast Guard Academys commencement ceremony.
Donald Trump himself is Christian, but he is not Catholic. Instead, Donald Trump identifies as a Presbyterian.
Growing up, Trump and his family attended the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan, one of the oldest Protestant congregations in North America. This remained Trumps church as he grew up, and this is where he was married to his first wife, Ivana, according to The Huffington Post.
Eight other U.S. presidents have been Presbyterians: Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower, Woodrow Wilson, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, James Buchanan, James Polk, and Andrew Jackson.
There has still only been one Catholic president: John F. Kennedy, and during the election of 1960, this was a major issue in the campaign, with Kennedys opponents saying that he would not be loyal to the United States but instead to the Vatican.
Ramping Up The Rhetoric
When commentators say Trump is speaking evangelicals language, what they mean is not the language of theology and faith, but the language of politicised religion that has come to form a large part of whats now frequently referred to as the culture wars in America.
Trump began employing this language during the 2016 campaign and has continued throughout his term in office. He has consistently claimed that people of faith are under siege, language which pointedly echoes a common refrain from evangelical leaders.
He also promised to totally destroy the Johnson amendment which bars non-profit organisations such as churches from endorsing or opposing particular candidates although he hasnt done so. And he became the first sitting president to address the annual anti-abortion March for Life rally in 2020.
In this light, Trumps claim that Biden poses a threat to the American faithful is part of a much longer history of the politicisation of conservative Christianity. Its increasingly associated with issues such as free market capitalism, support for the state of Israel, abortion, gun ownership and religious liberty rights. The rhetoric, promises and symbolism has far outstripped the reality of policy change, but that does not appear to matter a great deal.
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He Won The Catholic Vote
Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the AeroMod International hangar.
In the 2016 election, the majority of Catholics in the United States voted for Donald Trump.
According to Pew Research, 52 percent of Catholics voted for Donald Trump, while 45 percent voted for Hillary Clinton. Among white Catholics in particular, Trump won 60 percent of the vote to Hillary Clintons 37 percent.
This did not match with what pre-election polling had suggested. One ABC News/Washington Post poll from August 2016 showed Clinton winning 61 percent of the Catholic vote and Trump winning just 34 percent of it.
Its not the case that the Catholic vote will just automatically go to the Republican candidate, as Barack Obama won the majority of the Catholic vote in 2008 and 2012. In 2008, Obama won 54 percent of the Catholic vote, and in 2012, he won 50 percent of it. In 2004, George W. Bush won 52 percent of the Catholic vote, but in 2000, Al Gore won 50 percent of the Catholic vote and George W. Bush won 47 percent of it.
The Constitution Forbids Religious Tests
The Constitution states that there shall be no religious test for office . Nonetheless, some political candidates and office-holders bring up their religious beliefs often and loudly, and when they do, it can be useful to listen to what they say. We should especially consider the beliefs of Donald Trump because he is the current president of the United States.
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Donald Trump Told A Christian Tv Network That Nobody Had Done More For ‘christianity Or For Evangelicals Or For Religion Itself’ Than Him
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Donald Trump claimed that he did more for religion than anyone else while he was president.
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The former president claimed that Biden and the Democrats had done “destructive” things to religion.
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Trump also complained that he did not get enough credit from Jewish people for everything he has done for Israel.
Former President Donald Trump claimed that he did more for religion than anybody else while he was president.
“Nobody has done more for Christianity or for evangelicals or for religion itself than I have,” Trump said in an interview on the show FlashPoint on The Victory Channel, a Christian TV network.
-Right Wing Watch
He referenced “getting rid of the Johnson Amendment” which he said was a “very bad thing.”
The Johnson Amendment is a provision to the US tax code which prohibits non-profit organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates, or risk losing their tax-exempt status.
In 2017 Trump signed an executive order to ease the rules, arguing that it restricted church’s free speech rights. Some experts said that the order was mostly symbolic.
Trump also mentioned the Mexico City policy, which blocks federal funding for foreign non-governmental organizations that make referrals for abortion or discuss abortion as an option.
The policy which was first introduced in 1973 and has since been regularly rescinded by Democrat presidents and reinstated by Republican ones.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Trump Once Presbyterian Now Says Hes A Nondenominational Christian
President Donald Trump prepares his offering as he attends church at International Church of Las Vegas, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020.
Washington In an exclusive interview with Religion News Service, President Donald Trump said in a written statement that he no longer identifies as a Presbyterian and now sees himself as a nondenominational Christian.
Though I was confirmed at a Presbyterian church as a child, I now consider myself to be a nondenominational Christian, Trump, who has repeatedly identified as a Presbyterian in the past, said in a written response to RNS.
Saying that his parents taught me the importance of faith and prayer from a young age, Trump went on to say that Melania and I have gotten to visit some amazing churches and meet with great faith leaders from around the world. During the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak, I tuned into several virtual church services and know that millions of Americans did the same.
The revelation about Trumps religious identity appeared in an interview that was conducted in writing and covered a variety of faith topics, ranging from the presidents own spiritual life to his plans for the White House office tasked with engaging faith groups.
Questions for the interview, which were first negotiated with the White House press office, were presented to the president by Paula White, a Florida pastor and the head of the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative, according to the White House.
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Trump’s Actions And What They Reveal
Trump believes that he does not need to ask for forgiveness. At a campaign event in Iowa, he was asked if he had ever asked God for forgiveness. His response, after several attempts to evade the question, was that he had nota statement that must have shocked most Christians: “I am not sure I have. I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I don’t think so. I think if I do something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I don’t bring God into that picture. I don’t.”
He mocks and reviles every sign of weakness in others. Even a physical disability does not escape his disdain. Early in the presidential campaign, he mocked a disabled reporter.
Trump married his first wife, Ivana In the Marble Collegiate Church he married his second wife Marla in the ballroom of the Plaza Hotel he married his third wife in the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida.
Donald Trump: ‘nobody Has Done More For Christianity Than I Have’
The former President of the United States says no one has done more for the Christian faith than he has.
Donald Trump has been making an appearance, via telephone, on the Christian TV station The Victory Channel.
Speaking to Gene Bailey on Flashpoint, he said: “Nobody has done more for Christianity, or for evangelicals, or for religion itself, than I have.
“So many different things, getting rid of the Johnson amendment, Mexico City policy, and we could go down a list of items.”
Trump also took time to criticize his successor, labelling Joe Biden’s administration “far worse that anybody ever thought”.
He said: “You talk about abortion, you talk about all of the subjects that you do every Sunday and during the week, and he’s terrible on these subjects.
“I said it was going to happen, but I had no idea was going to be this bad. You take a look at what they’re doing. It’s, it’s destructive.”
In a conversation which he appeared to be seeking further support, the 45th President also highlighted his work in the Middle East.
“Nobody’s done so much for Israel, as I have, with Jerusalem, and ending the Iran nuclear deal, which is a disaster.
“In the evangelical community I actually get probably more credit for that than I do with Jewish people. But Israel is a very important element.”
In recent weeks, Donald Trump has increased the number of media engagements, most of which come via telephone.
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Stop Calling Donald Trump A Bad Christian
Plenty of his critics see Trump’s malevolence and declare he’s a bad Christian, or not even Christian at all. But that approach is an ahistorical, disingenuous and indefensible cop-out
Its Christmas, and for the last time, Donald Trump is the president of the festive season.
He declares “Merry Christmas!” while warning darkly that Joe Biden will ban the phrase in favor of “Happy Holidays!” His son declares his father has “literally saved Christianity.” His Presidential Prayer Team encourages Americans to send Christmas prayers to himself, his wife, and his son. He revels in being the nations Christian-in-Chief.
Many people understandably bristle at the idea that Trump is a particularly Christian leader, or even a Christian.
Hes mocked his Christian supporters in private, referring to leading evangelical pastors as “hustlers” and saying, “theyre all full of shit.”
Many of Trumps core policies separating children from their parents at the border, or massive tax cuts for the rich are hard to reconcile with the Jesus of the Gospels, who urged his followers to welcome the stranger and aid the poor. If a rich man is as likely to get into heaven as a camel is to go through the eye of a needle, then Donald Trump is likely going to the other place.
This is why some Christians insist, “When I look at Donald Trump, I do not see a Christian.” For them, Trumps boorishness, egoism, and cruelty is the antithesis of Jesus message.
Is Trump A Christian An Atheist The Anti
I posted about Donald Trump’s religion on Facebook, and the comments generated by this post were startling. While a few said Trump was a Christian as he claims to be, most had other definitions and descriptions of his religious views. Here is a summary of those comments.
A large majority denied that he was a Christian, or else they said he was not a true Christian. I think what they meant was that he was not a good Christian as they defined the term. The comments suggested that they meant that a good Christian was someone who did one or more of these things :
- attends church regularly,
- lives according to godly morality, and
- does good works.
Many referenced his well-known narcissism. They said he worshiped himself and/or considered himself to be God. They said he wants others to worship him. They described his religion as…
- He is a Me-ist.
Some said he worshiped money. Mammon was his god. They said…
- His religion is the Almighty Dollar.
- His God and the God of his entire family is money.
- He’s a Money-ist.
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Trump’s Religion During The 2016 Campaign
Religion was a major issue forTrump during the 2016 election campaign. From the beginning, Trump campaigned hard among evangelicals, and it paid off for himhe won 81% of the white evangelical vote.
At campaign stops, he would bring two props: a copy of his own book, The Art of the Deal, and a Bible. He claimed the Bible was his favorite book. I love the Bible, he would proclaim to the crowds as his rallies.
There was one problem with this. He apparently did not know the first thing about the Bible. He called communion wafers those little crackers. He referred to Second Corinthians, a book in the Bible, as Two Corinthians. When he was asked to name a favorite Bible verse, he couldnt come up with one. He covered up his ignorance by saying the whole Bible is incredible.
Finally, reporters pinned him down in an interview. He told them his favorite Bible verse was “Proverbs, the chapter ‘never bend to envyIve had that thing all of my life where people are bending to envy.” Only one problemthat phrase is not in the Bible. Well, two problems, since he also made it all about him saying people envy him. Okay, maybe three problemsif he was referring to Proverbs 24:1-2 where it says Be not thou envious of evil men he was casting himself as an evil man.
His ignorance of the Bible and religious traditions left him unfazed. He continued to campaign citing his love for the Bible.
Donald Trumps Big Lie About The Law That Threatens Christians
Joshua Roberts/Reuters
Fact-checking Donald Trump has become a small industry this election cycle. How Trump deceives people of faith with falsehoods deserves especially close scrutiny.
In his speech accepting the Republican nomination, Trump promised to repeal an amendment, pushed by Lyndon Johnson many years ago, threatens religious institutions with a loss of their tax-exempt status if they openly advocate their political views.
No such law exists.
In full, Trump claimed that our laws prevent you from speaking your minds from your own pulpits. An amendment, pushed by Lyndon Johnson many years ago, threatens religious institutions with a loss of their tax-exempt status if they openly advocate their political views. I am going to work very hard to repeal that language and protect free speech for all Americans. I think maybe that will be my greatest contribution to Christianityand other religionsis to allow you, when you talk religious liberty, to go and speak openly
Again, no such law exists. The law Johnson sponsored says something quite different.
Trump has been getting these facts wrong since Februaryone of many examples of him repeating falsehoods to win votes from evangelicals whose leaders evidently have not fact-checked Trump.
Incredibly, immediately after naming two ministers who endorsed him and praising Pastor Jeffresss endorsement, Trump complained that Christian pastors were afraid to endorse him.
Lets unpack that to get at the facts.
READ THIS LIST
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When Character No Longer Counts
Alan Jacobs
Spring 2017
One of the most surprising developments of the 2016 presidential campaign was the wholesale abandonment by many conservative Christians, including many Catholics and most evangelicals, of a position that they had once held almost unanimously: In politics, character counts. It is not difficult to understand how this happened, though people who share many fundamental religious convictions will be debating for a long time the wisdom of replacing the familiar standards for evaluating political candidates.
All this has received a good deal of attention in the press. But one very important element of this change of emphasis has been neglected: If character no longer counts, or at least is no longer definitive, then what does count? What criteria should determine a Christian’s attitude toward a political candidate? There is no uniform answer to this question, but the most common answer given by Christian leaders supporting Donald Trump is a troubling one. It replaces the public assessment of virtue with the private judgments of pastors. And it has consequences not only for Christianity in America, but also, thanks to the sheer number of Christians in America, for the whole social order and political culture of our country.
RIGHT TO JUDGE
But if character doesn’t count, what does?
THE PRAGMATIC VIRTUES
GOD’S FINGERPRINT
David Barton, the controversial evangelical historian, takes this view:
THE CULT OF AUTHORITY
