![\"Trump\u2019s](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1467\/2025\/01\/donald-2147250_1280.jpg\")
<\/a>My daughter has only seen one inaugural speech (Biden\u2019s) other than Trump\u2019s most recent one.<\/strong> She messaged me, noting all the religious language in his address. I told her that religious language is common in presidential speeches. You could bet money on a US President quoting scripture or at least saying \u201cGod bless America\u201d as part of their political rhetoric.<\/p>\n This is part of <\/strong>American civil religion<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, and has been for generations. <\/strong>Politicians of all stripes know that if they appear righteous, people will vote for them and support them once elected. They have learned to appeal to Americans\u2019 religious sentiment. So, it was no surprise that Trump\u2019s inaugural address contained so much religious language.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n But what was between the li(n)es in the US President\u2019s speech?<\/strong> There\u2019s what a person says<\/em>, and then there\u2019s what they mean<\/em>. What was Donald Trump NOT telling you in his speech?<\/p>\n There is so much I could write about as I analyze this inaugural address. I have a lot that I\u2019d like to say about Trump\u2019s politics\u2014and I will not refrain in future writing. But the purpose of this and my next two articles will be to focus on what Trump said about religion\u2014both overtly and covertly.<\/strong> So, instead of looking at the entire speech, I\u2019ll stick to his religion-oriented quotes. And they aren\u2019t sparse.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal, and all of these many betrayals that have taken place, and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and, indeed, their freedom.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Donald Trump sees himself as someone who can give people back their faith. <\/strong>Sure, many people in the US have lost their faith. In my article, \u201cYouth Leave U.S. Pews Like Rats from a Sinking Church<\/a><\/span>,\u201d I discuss the decline of the Church in America. And young people aren\u2019t the only ones abandoning formal religion. Many have left the Church in recent years. In \u201cFor All Who Have Walked Out of Church<\/span>,<\/a>\u201d I discuss the many reasons, including hurt, judgment, and intellectual honesty, that lead to people\u2019s decision to leave Church.\u00a0 I write:<\/p>\n \u201cPolitics may have played a part in your decision to leave. When Christians wed religion to politics, it makes for an awfully bad marriage. If your church leaders have a political agenda, it turns you off. If fellow church members expect you to vote like them, it might make you feel unwelcome. If you\u2019ve noticed a disconnect between what people say they believe morally, and how they vote politically, you might decide to give up on the church.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Trump has it wrong. He won\u2019t be giving people back their faith.<\/strong> What Trump isn\u2019t telling you is that many people say they have walked out of the Church specifically because of its indorsement of Trump. They see the hypocrisy of people who claim to follow Jesus, but who vote for a man who represents everything that opposes the reign of God and the person of Jesus. So, no\u2014Trump will not be giving people back their faith. If anything, this next presidency will see an increased decline in the Church as disenfranchised and disillusioned people run faster and farther than they did in his last term.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur liberties and our nation\u2019s glorious destiny will no longer be denied, and we will immediately restore the integrity, competency and loyalty of America\u2019s government.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Donald Trump loves to use the word \u201cdestiny.\u201d<\/strong> On the surface, it seems like an innocuous enough word. We use it in rom-coms to describe two people who are meant to be together. You hear it in the context of motivational and personal development\u2014as in, \u201cTake my course and learn to take control of your destiny!\u201d But this word has two other contexts. I\u2019ll hold one in my back pocket for later. Here, I\u2019ll only talk about the religious context.<\/p>\n Many religions and spiritual traditions use the word \u201cdestiny\u201d to describe a divine plan. <\/strong>While Trump seems to have no spiritual convictions of his own, he panders to the religious crowd by using this word. He knows that those who voted for him labeled him as \u201cThe Chosen One.\u201d He even called himself that when discussing his trade war with China.<\/a> <\/span>What Trump isn\u2019t telling you is that he doesn\u2019t really believe in a divine plan. But he\u2019s perfectly happy for his followers to believe he\u2019s a new American messiah.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cJust a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin\u2019s bullet ripped through my ear. But I felt then, and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Conspiracy theories abound, regarding what transpired on July 13, 2024.<\/strong> People still throw around their opinions about the shooter, the police, the projectile, and whether or not the whole thing was staged. Maybe one day we\u2019ll have all the facts and there will be no more theories. At least, regarding the earthly events that happened that day.<\/p>\n But what Trump isn\u2019t telling you is that it\u2019s outrageous to claim that God saved his life to make America great again. <\/strong>Nobody knows the mind of God. While I sympathize with a traumatized individual attempting to manufacture meaning out of an assassination attempt, he does not have the right to declare God\u2019s purpose in the event. While we\u2019re all entitled to a theological opinion, his statement is more about grandiosity and his savior complex than it is about anything else.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In summary, Trump believes it\u2019s possible for him to give people back their faith. He vowed to lead people toward their God-ordained destiny. And he specifically said God saved him to make America great again. These are but the first three of the nine religious statements Trump made during his inaugural speech.<\/p>\n I hope you\u2019ll join me for my next article, where I continue this look at the religious aspects of Trump\u2019s inaugural address. In \u201cInaugural Address: What is Trump NOT Telling You?\u201d I will examine Trump\u2019s statements:<\/strong><\/p>\n I hope you\u2019ll join me as we continue to read between the li(n)es, and see what Trump\u2019s NOT telling you.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Donald Trump had a lot to say about religion in his second inaugural speech. What\u2019s between the li(n)es? What was Trump NOT telling you? My daughter has only seen one inaugural speech (Biden\u2019s) other than Trump\u2019s most recent one. She messaged me, noting all the religious language in his address. I told her that religious […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4628,"featured_media":6626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4080,4460,4466,4463,4469],"class_list":["post-6623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-donald-trump","tag-presidential-inauguration","tag-reading-between-the-lines","tag-trump-inauguration","tag-trumps-lies"],"yoast_head":"\nBetween the Li(n)es<\/h2>\n
\u201cGive People Back Their Faith\u201d<\/h2>\n
\u201cOur Nation\u2019s Glorious Destiny\u201d<\/h2>\n
\u201cMy Life Was Saved for a Reason\u201d<\/h2>\n
Inaugural Address: What is Trump NOT Telling You?<\/h2>\n
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For related reading, check out my other articles:<\/h3>\n
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