{"id":5057,"date":"2020-11-03T02:46:17","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T02:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learn.elca.org\/jle\/?p=5057"},"modified":"2020-11-03T02:46:17","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T02:46:17","slug":"review-red-state-christians-understanding-the-voters-who-elected-donald-trump-by-angela-denker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learn.elca.org\/jle\/review-red-state-christians-understanding-the-voters-who-elected-donald-trump-by-angela-denker\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Red State Christians: Understanding the Voters Who Elected Donald Trump, by Angela Denker"},"content":{"rendered":"

[1] In November 1966 Ronald Reagan shocked the Democratic party in California by decisively defeating Governor Pat Brown in his bid for a third term in the statehouse. In response to this shocking victory, the social scientist James Q. Wilson wrote \u201cA Guide to Reagan Country\u201d to help the Democratic establishment understand the thinking of those Reagan voters. Wilson reminded his readers that Reagan could not be easily dismissed as if he were something \u201cpreached at the pulpit of some cultist church.\u201d<\/p>\n

[2] Fifty years later there was another major shock to the political system. The election in 2016 of Donald Trump as President of the United States caused no less of a gasp to establishment Democrats and politically liberal Americans than Reagan\u2019s victory over Brown. But this time, liberal Americans have a new guide, Angela\u00a0Denker, an ELCA pastor who uses the journalistic training of her first career to explore the thinking of Christians who voted for Trump. The result is\u00a0Red State Christians:\u00a0 Understanding the Voters Who Elected Donald Trump<\/em>. Unlike Wilson,\u00a0Denker\u00a0believes that what is preached at evangelical churches (especially megachurches) is exactly where one should go to understand many of these Trump voters.<\/p>\n

[3]\u00a0Denker\u2019s\u00a0purpose in writing\u00a0Red State Christians<\/em>\u00a0is an admirable one:\u00a0 to get people to move beyond their first impulse which is often \u201cto block, to unfriend\u201d anyone who disagrees with them. (3) She hopes that by encountering these stories of Christian Trump voters, the reader will find commonalities with people who often seem quite different from oneself.\u00a0 This in turn may provide an \u201copportunity for growth and national renewal.\u201d (3)<\/p>\n

[4] This is not just an academic exercise for\u00a0Denker, but a personal quest. Her acquaintances, friends, and family are Christian Trump voters, and\u00a0Denker\u2019s\u00a0personal observations are interwoven with these stories. That is one of the strengths of the book \u2013 we get to see how\u00a0Denker\u00a0confronts her own deeply held beliefs about Trump voters.\u00a0 She is challenged to go beyond a superficial understanding of these fellow Christians.<\/p>\n

[5]\u00a0Denker\u00a0spent a year crisscrossing the nation to meet Christians who are politically conservative and voted for Donald Trump.\u00a0Denker\u00a0has structured her book as a series of interviews with Trump voters from different parts of the country.<\/p>\n

[6] We meet Pam Nicholson who was a first-time marcher in the March for Life. Nicholson is from Maryland, and although she did not vote for Trump, she is generally pleased with his politics. Given the brashness of Donald Trump,\u00a0Denker\u00a0is surprised to find humility and self-consciousness in Nicholson and the pro-life movement, suggesting that the March for Life is not simply a \u201cthinly veiled Trump rally.\u201d (50)<\/p>\n

[7] We meet Tammy\u00a0Hotsenpiller, a pastor\u2019s wife with a ministry in her own right at Influence Church in Orange County, California. Tammy is conflicted, supporting Trump yet holding open the possibility of voting for another candidate.\u00a0Denker\u00a0perceptively notes how women like Tammy have pushed the boundaries in evangelical Christianity and wonders how they might challenge the political \u201ctruths\u201d of Evangelicals to go beyond Trump \u201cto something more revolutionary and less patriarchal.\u201d (101)<\/p>\n

[8] We meet Eric and Emily\u00a0Kullman\u00a0from rural Cole Camp, Missouri, who praise Trump for his independence and that he could not be bought or influenced by any political party.\u00a0Denker\u00a0sees the\u00a0Kullmans\u00a0as rural libertarians who tend to separate (not entwine) their faith and politics.<\/p>\n

[9] We also meet so-called \u201cestablishment\u201d Christians such as Washington power player Brad Todd, who attends a United Methodist church in northern Virginia. For\u00a0Denker, Todd is an example of \u201cruthless pragmatism\u201d in which the fear of Trump paled in comparison to fear of Hillary Clinton. (150)<\/p>\n

[10] In one of the most interesting sections of the book,\u00a0Denker\u00a0interviews Paula White, the pastor that Trump calls his pastor.\u00a0Denker\u00a0is prepared to dislike the woman (a former televangelist), her politics, and her brand of Christianity. Yet White now pastors humble New Destiny Christian Center outside of Orlando, Florida, which is composed of predominately African American Christians. She also feels called to minister to Trump and to show him Jesus. Although\u00a0Denker\u00a0believes that White\u2019s theological training and biblical knowledge are lacking, White is genuine and a source of hope to\u00a0Denker. White states that she will do her pastoral duty and call out Trump for his sins.<\/p>\n

[11] The book is titled\u00a0Red State Christians<\/em>, but this is something of a misnomer as many of\u00a0Denker\u2019s\u00a0stories originate from states that did not go \u201cred\u201d for Trump. (Denker\u00a0does recognize this as she occasionally refers to \u201cred counties\u201d rather than \u201cred states.\u201d)\u00a0 The bulk of the book is not so much about Christians living in \u201cred states\u201d or \u201cred counties\u201d but about evangelical\u00a0<\/em>Protestant Christians and those influenced by evangelical Christianity who voted for Donald Trump.\u00a0Denker\u2019s\u00a0major question is how is it that evangelical Protestant Christianity produced so many Christians who voted for Donald Trump.\u00a0Denker\u00a0does not answer this question directly, but she does point us in the direction of some possible answers through her choice of material.<\/p>\n

[12] One answer is Christian nationalism, and\u00a0Denker\u2019s\u00a0material on Christian nationalism is of\u00a0particular value.\u00a0\u00a0She illustrates this with a vignette on Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas and its celebration of Fourth of July worship.\u00a0\u00a0When\u00a0Denker\u00a0visited Prestonwood, the entire arena-style worship space was covered with American flag bunting. The service started with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the National Anthem, songs of the military service branches, and recognition of veterans and service members.\u00a0Denker\u00a0remarks that she has not said the Pledge since elementary school.\u00a0\u00a0While the First Commandment would seem to warn against making the flag or the nation an idol,\u00a0Denker\u00a0notes that the sermon\u2019s theme is the biblical justification for American exceptionalism.\u00a0Denker\u00a0is appalled by the brazen display of \u201cChristian Nationalism\u201d and support for the Trump administration\u2019s immigration policy. Yet, after hearing a patriotic song written by Prestonwood\u2019s musicians and watching images of the sacrifice of American forces, she admits that as the granddaughter of a World War II veteran and daughter-in-law of a Vietnam vet, \u201cMy heart swelled with pride, and I nearly cried.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0(26)<\/p>\n

[13] It was at this point that I thought\u00a0Denker\u00a0would try to bridge the gap, to attempt to understand why these Christians would include a patriotic display in their church service. But instead of looking deeper into the reasons for this display, she ends the story with a criticism of the church seemingly conflating the sacrifice of soldiers with the sacrifice of Jesus. It is here that I thought\u00a0Denker\u00a0could have added to her excellent description by reflecting on how it might be possible, at least for these Christians, that this type of American patriotism is consistent with their Christian beliefs. Many churches, not just evangelical ones, have American flags on their property (and even in their sanctuaries), and there are historical and cultural reasons for this, as well as theological understandings of the proper church-state relationship that could possibly explain the presence of a national flag, singing of the National Anthem, recognition of veterans, and the like. The question that calls out to be answered is why these Christians do not see a conflict between their allegiance to Christ and their allegiance to country.<\/p>\n

[14] In addition to Christian nationalism,\u00a0Denker\u00a0suggests that Trump\u2019s position on guns adds to his popularity in the evangelical world.\u00a0 In her section on \u201cGod and Guns,\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Denker\u00a0describes the River church in Tampa Bay, Florida, where a sign notifies visitors that the church is not a gun free zone and that the pastors are heavily armed. Although the pastors are not actually armed,\u00a0Denker\u00a0wonders if guns are a \u201cfinal defense against the encroachment of an amoral, irreligious outside world.\u201d\u00a0 (60).<\/p>\n

[15] The fascinating chapter on Christians, Muslims, and Evangelicals in Houston is akin to a coming-of-age narrative in which\u00a0Denker\u00a0encounters people she initially assumed would not support Donald Trump. For example, she learns from Issa\u00a0Kabar, a Jordanian Evangelical Christian, that extremist Muslims pose a greater threat to Arab Christians than does Israel. Trump is the choice of these Christians who want to defeat ISIS. And even\u00a0Javed\u00a0Malik, the director of the Masjid\u00a0Sabireen\u00a0Mosque, could say that the Trump \u201ctravel ban\u201d had not affected his community and that Trump as President was \u201cour leader.\u201d (256)<\/p>\n

[16]\u00a0Denker\u00a0is to be saluted for seeking out fellow Christians with political beliefs radically different from her own and providing us with a record of these conversations. The vividness of her conversations is something that sticks with you, and the book could provide the text for small-group discussions at the congregational level. Although this book primarily concentrated on conservative and evangelical Protestant Christians, I would look forward to a follow-up on those mainline Christians, such as ELCA Christians, who voted for Trump in key battleground states such as Wisconsin. For if the Pew surveys are correct, almost half of ELCA Christians are Republican or lean Republican. It would be interesting to hear the stories of these Christians and whether they can also be counted as Trump voters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[1] In November 1966 Ronald Reagan shocked the Democratic party in California by decisively defeating Governor Pat Brown in his bid for a third term in the statehouse. In response to this shocking victory, the social scientist James Q. 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