Viewpoint: The Religious Right will rise and fall with Donald Trump

Rev Jim Wallis writes in Sojourners today: President Donald Trump is the logical hero for the "religious right," judging by how he was welcomed to their Values Voter Summit last weekend. These Christians rallied around the billionaire playboy, political bully, ethno-nationalist, and purveyor of racial bigotry. As a result, he has become the moral definition of their movement.

Trump is the natural conclusion to how the religious right movement began, and what it has become. When it comes to this movement, the operative word is clearly not "religious" (or even "Christian"), but "right." (And for the vast majority of "values voters" who are white Christians, the operative word is not "Christian" but "white.")

The longest applause for President Trump from the right-wing white evangelicals gathered in Washington DC last Friday was when he brought up the flag, not the cross. Those standing and shouting "USA! USA!" were making a clear statement against black athletes who have been protesting racial injustice and police brutality during the national anthem.

Steve Bannon showed up, too, and his revivalist message of economic and cultural nationalism also wowed the crowd, with an altar call to make "war" on the Republican establishment, because "you are the transmission of the best values of the Judeo-Christian West."

To read on see: https://sojo.net/articles/religious-right-will-rise-and-fall-donald-trump