The Evolution of Christianity in Politics…

Evolution: The gradual development of something from an earlier form.

When Europeans invaded America and set up the USA, their experience back in Europe of religious persecution, caused by the entanglement of political power and religion, led them to ensure that that there was “a wall of separation between church and state” according to Thomas Jefferson. Consequently, in the USA there is no established state church, the government is required be neutral on religion and individuals have complete freedom of religious belief. This even extends to state (but not private) schools being forbidden to hold religious services for students. So why is the Christian religion apparently prospering in the USA?

Back in Europe many countries in the past had a direct supportive connection between church and state. In our part of the world, we had the Church of England, the Church of Scotland and the special status of the Catholic Church in Ireland and of course the Anglican ‘Church of Ireland’ with a requirement to have religious services in our schools. Until the mid-20^th Century many European countries gave preferential treatments to some churches. In Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Norway Lutheran variations were favoured, while in other countries such as Italy, Spain and Portugal the Catholic church was favoured. Why then has religious belief declined in Europe, while across a range of measures (Belief in God, Church Attendance, Public Role) Americans seem to value religion more?

Evolution of the Fittest

Several authors (notably Rodney Stark and Roger Finke in The Churching of America, but also Laurence Iannaccone and Nathan Hatch) have suggested that by having a completely unregulated environment for religion, the USA allowed a variety of competing churches to develop in a ‘religious marketplace’ where there would be a competitive incentive to experiment with different approaches and produce a more ‘appealing product’ leading to the development of a range of megachurches.

Considering how many adherents of USA churches do not believe in evolution, it is ironic that this ‘survival of the fittest’ environment may have led to religion evolving and prospering across the USA. But has this evolution introduced other more worrying changes?

Christianity comes from Jesus Christ

Does Christianity lose value if it becomes remote from the teachings of Jesus? Any reasonable reading of the New Testament would introduce us to a deity who believed

• we should treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves
• in helping the poor, sick and outsiders like the Samaritans
• in caring for children
• in modesty and not boasting about charity.

How does any of the above match the actions of the religious right in the USA who seemed to have embraced Donald Trump, and now embrace a range of ideas such as ‘prosperity theology’? (If people have faith in God, God will deliver security and prosperity, supporting the reverse belief – I am rich, therefore I am a good person who is loved by God.)

Would the Jesus who healed the sick deny health care treatments to those with limited health insurance? Would the Jesus who valued caring for children and feeding the hungry support the imposition of starvation or the sending more bombs to destroy the poor people of Gaza?

I am aware that some believers will support Trump for the same reason others supported the Roman Emperor Constantine in 330AD – if a rich and powerful man is allied to your cause, you have a better chance of promoting your faith. (Constantine is still venerated as a Saint by the Eastern churches but he was capable of great cruelty, in his later ‘Christian days’ ordering the execution of both his eldest son and his wife.) However, many believe that while Constantine helped the Christian church to spread, he also encouraged its corruption from a religion of the poor and weak into a political tool of the rich and powerful of Rome.

Similarly, I suggest the USA Republican party are using the authority of religion to give credence to policies that might otherwise make people feel queasy. Denying funding for childhood cancer research and for Parkinsons disease, bringing back corporal punishment to schools, sending immigrants without due process to concentration camps in El Salvador all have the appearance of ‘performative cruelty’ designed to appeal to the far right. Many of the laws around control of women’s bodies are couched in religious terms again designed to appeal to the religious right.

Those who revel in seeing Christian pastors praying over Donald Trump, or watching his staff praying before giving press conferences seem to have forgotten the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14). Surely, Christianity is not just a performance for electoral reasons or a social status symbol. The third commandment about ‘taking the Lord’s name in vain’ promises penalties for those who pretend to be followers of God when they are nothing of the sort.

Finally, I seriously worry about the growth of the ‘Millennium’ belief that Israel taking over the entirety of Palestine is a necessary precursor for the ‘Second Coming’ of Jesus Christ – a belief common among many right-wing Christian sects supporting Trump. There is a real danger that they are using Trump to develop an alliance of Jewish and Christian extremists ready to embark on a new Crusade against Muslims in the Middle East with years of conflict and death funded and supported by the USA.

I know some would argue that Trump is a man of God, but some of us fear he is leading the US into the arms of Satan.

(Disclaimer: I make no claim of being a Christian or an especially moral person.)

Arnold Carton

Arnold is a retired teacher from Lisburn, now living in Belfast.