The media, both television and online newspapers, have
focused almost entirely on Donald Trump having a base of support among people
who have suffered during the recession that came at the end of the second term
of President George W. Bush.
Many of those who support Trump may be people unhappy with
Supreme Court decisions making same sex marriage legal, giving gay people equal
rights, guaranteeing that women retain the right to abortions and even
legalizing marijuana.
These decisions are strongly supported by evangelical and
other conservative churches. The problem is people are leaving these churches
in droves, according to “The End of White Christian America” by Robert P.
Jones.
Changing demographics, lowering the white majority, also is
contributing to churches losing members.
“After a long life spanning nearly two hundred and forty
years, White Christian America— a prominent cultural force in the nation’s
history— has died. WCA first began to exhibit troubling symptoms in the 1960s
when white mainline Protestant denominations began to shrink, but showed signs
of rallying with the rise of the Christian Right in the 1980s. Following the
2004 presidential election, however, it became clear that WCA’s powers were
failing. Although examiners have not been able to pinpoint the exact time of
death, the best evidence suggests that WCA finally succumbed in the latter part
of the first decade of the twenty-first century. The cause of death was
determined to be a combination of environmental and internal factors—
complications stemming from major demographic changes in the country, along
with religious disaffiliation as many of its younger members began to doubt
WCA’s continued relevance in a shifting cultural environment,” the book says.
It adds, “The American religious landscape is being remade,
most notably by the decline of the white Protestant majority and the rise of
the religiously unaffiliated. These religious transformations have been swift
and dramatic, occurring largely within the last four decades. Many white
Americans have sensed these changes taking place all around them, and there has
been some media coverage of the demographic piece of the puzzle. But while the
country’s shifting racial dynamics alone are certainly a source of apprehension
for many white Americans, it is the disappearance of White Christian America
that is driving their strong, sometimes apocalyptic reactions. Falling numbers
and the marginalization of a once dominant racial and religious identity— one
that has been central not just to white Christians themselves but to the
national mythos— threatens white Christians’ understanding of America itself.”
The appearance of Trump has given conservative Christian
Americans a way to express their displeasure, other than shouting at the
televisions.
This year Gallup Polls for the first time found 50 percent
of Americans approve of abortion rights. For four years same-sex marriage has
been approved by a majority.
Homosexual rights were first approved by a majority in 1999.
Although a majority has approved of medical marijuana for a
decade, this year a majority approve of legalizing recreational marijuana.
This election is likely the last chance of conservatives to
stop the country moving to make these rights part of our culture.
And it will be remarkable, based on current polls, if Trump
is not defeated, possibly in a landslide.
The anti-marijuana laws are in an even tougher spot because
state after state has legalized it. The Supreme Court cannot be blamed.
There is growing support for dealing with climate change, as
well.
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