Having spent a lifetime teaching and writing about American politics, I’m often asked this question by bemused church friends: “Why did 82% of white evangelical men vote for Donald Trump in 2024?” And the first thing that I want them to understand is that both they and those American voters are using the word “evangelical” to mean two different things.
My friends use the word to refer to something spiritual centring on the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ concerning man’s sinfulness, Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross, the empowering of the Holy Spirit to live God-honouring lives, and the need to preach that gospel to those as yet unsaved.
But for millions in America, the word refers to something primarily political, centring on anti-abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, pro-gun rights, and the limiting of federal government power. Their primary aim is not salvation for others, but political power for themselves. And it gives the game away when you discover that white men made up 34% of voters and two-thirds of those called themselves “evangelicals”.
Why does Trump get things back to front?
One of President Trump’s flaws is that he too often gets things the wrong way round. To put it simply, …