background
They are against the right to have an abortion, they raise awareness against queer people and present themselves as fighters against socialism: the white evangelicals in the USA. Her political influence is great.
When the President of the United States is elected next year, they could once again play an important role: the white evangelicals. Together with right-wing Catholics, Protestants, Mormons and non-denominational Christians, they form the so-called religious right, says journalist and author Annika Brockschmidt. “The common denominator is white Christian nationalism – the idea that America was founded by and for white conservative Christians.”
The white evangelicals do according to the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) comprises about 14 percent of the US population. Above all, former President Donald Trump, who has already announced his renewed candidacy, could count on their support: in 2016 around 77 percent of white Evangelicals voted for him, In 2020 it was even about 84 percent.
Among non-white evangelicals, such as African Americans, Trump’s approval ratings were significantly lower. A majority of black evangelicals voted for US President Joe Biden. However, non-white evangelicals are clearly in the minority in the US: They make up only 24 percent of all evangelicals.
Trump, in turn, delivered what white evangelicals expected of him during his tenure, says Jiore Craig, resident senior fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). Because Trump nominated three strictly conservative judges for the Supreme Court and thus secured a majority of conservatives there for years. This has already led to groundbreaking decisions in recent months – because the Supreme Court is the highest judicial state body in the USA.
Queer people in focus
The most prominent case is the overturning of the landmark decision on abortion rights “Roe v Wade” last summer. This makes it possible for the states to severely restrict or even ban abortions. Trump made good on his election promise to white evangelicals.
The Supreme Court made other decisions that may well be in the interests of white evangelicals. For example, teaching staff at public schools can once again pray out loud in front of the students. The environmental agency EPA was in turn prohibited from setting the CO2 emissions of coal-fired power plants. “White evangelicals want the United States to get as close as possible to their interpretation of a biblical Christian state,” says Craig. “And a large part of progressive politics is directed against this.”
Man-made climate change is also repeatedly questioned by white evangelicals. For example, there is the Cornwall Alliance, which was founded by evangelicals and lobbies against environmental and climate protection. just about one-third of all evangelical Christians in the United States thinks climate change is man-made.
The white evangelicals also act against the rights of queer people. Gender and the sex assigned at birth are one and the same for them, says Brockschmidt. “They see the world in terms of a strict gender binary.” The white evangelicals and the religious right as a whole would share their biological world view with right-wing extremists, among others.
A study by the American non-governmental organization American Civil Liberties Union shows how much the queer community in the USA has already become the focus of politics. Accordingly, in the current year already more than 491 anti-LGBTIQ laws introduced in the individual states. The law known as the “Don’t say gay bill” that was enacted in Florida last year also caused an international sensation. There, primary school teachers are no longer allowed to talk about sexual orientation or gender identity.
“White evangelicals are politically significant”
According to Craig, one of the successes of the Religious Right is that they would hold the Republican Party hostage, so to speak. The white evangelicals have managed to establish themselves as a power base because they are an important constituency for many Republican politicians. “The white evangelicals have their strongholds in certain states that have a high number of electors. So they are politically important.”
In this way they would manage to make political decisions that actually did not have a majority in the population. According to polls, 60 percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Eighty percent support legislation protecting the LGBTIQ community—about two-thirds support it, even in the states with the lowest approval ratings.
But an analysis of According to news website Axios members of Congress are significantly more religious than the American population. PRRI executive director Robert P. Jones speaks of a nationwide disconnect between elected officials and the public on some controversial issues.
This also applies to the US state of Texas, where, according to Jones, white evangelicals dominate the legislature and, for example, abortion is completely banned. Only 15 percent of the residents there describe themselves as white evangelicals.
White evangelicals are well connected
Craig also explains the influence of the white evangelicals with their large network. For example, there is the Salem Media Group, a media company that owns more than 100 radio stations and operates numerous websites. According to the media group, it reaches eleven million radio listeners and has more than 150 million monthly web and app views. Co-founder of the Salem Media Group is Stuart Epperson, who was named one of the 25 most influential evangelicals in the USA by “Time Magazine” in 2005.
In addition, the white evangelicals are also networked with other movements that spread right-wing populist or conspiracy ideological content. The right-wing populist non-governmental organization Turning Point USA, for example, supports the religious right financially in order to “restore biblical values”. The major conferences at Turning Point USA, originally dedicated to fighting socialism, have a lot of biblical references, says Craig.
Also on the “ReAwaken America Tour” religious right appear next to Trump supporters and Corona deniers. Such overlaps are not unusual, says Craig: “There are many people who support several of these movements at once. They support Trump, for example, believe in the stolen elections and are convinced white evangelicals.” It is therefore easy to unite these different currents and recruit together. According to Craig, the white evangelicals also have close ties to racist, right-wing extremist groups.
“Fighters Against Socialism”
But white evangelicals aren’t peddling their extreme positions in an attempt to attract new followers, Craig says. Because they knew that they wouldn’t be able to carry many people with them. “The white evangelicals, for example, pose as fighters against socialism. They spread the idea that socialism is basically making people lazy and giving them handouts, and that capitalism is for hard-working people.”
The white evangelicals are therefore in favor of tax breaks, says Craig. “I would say most voters are rational,” says Craig. “And so for many voters it is crucial what affects their budget and how.” Unlike in Europe, the term socialism is already used in conservative circles in the USA for welfare state measures that entail higher social security contributions, for example.
In other political debates, too, white evangelicals would try to address common concerns with their narratives. They focused, for example, on the protection of children. “When it comes to same-sex marriage or sexuality, instead of saying they’re against it in general, they’re spreading the notion that it shouldn’t be brought up too early in schools,” Craig explains.
According to Craig, white evangelicals are also trying to take advantage of the current debates about “cancel culture” and “wokeism”. “Here, too, they see potential for winning over people to their views.”
In addition to Trump, another possible candidate for the white evangelicals has positioned himself for the 2024 presidential election: Mike Pence, who is one of them himself. He was already vice president under Trump and was considered by experts to be one of the reasons for his high popularity ratings within the religious right. Now they will both have to fight for their votes.